


More Than Complicated

by Nakira Taisho (nakirataisho)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst incoming, Blood and Guts, F/M, Identity Reveal, Slow Burn, like for a few scenes, partial AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2018-11-08 10:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11079843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakirataisho/pseuds/Nakira%20Taisho
Summary: Hawk Moth starts turning criminals into super villains, making life much harder for Paris' teen heroes.





	1. The Failed Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gathers the courage to finally confess to Adrien. ((Edited))

It was the last day of summer vacation. She'd been doing this for nearly two years now, juggling both saving Paris and being a teenager. Marinette was tired of it. But it felt like every time she turned around, another person in town had been turned into a villain and she had to save the day as Ladybug. All she wanted was a chance to breathe and be just a teenager again.

She leaned back in her desk chair and groaned. Of course, she _couldn't_ just track down Hawk Moth and demand that he stop turning people into his evil super minions for a day. She'd have to be prepared to give him her Miraculous and then Chat Noir would be on his own. Ladybug's power was needed to purify the Akuma and fix the damage done.

She just wanted to take a long nap and ignore everything for a day. Even her mundane teenage life seemed too much at that moment. And it would have been nice if she could do that. She was still class rep, and she _had_ to go to school. She'd made an agreement with Master Fu for a training schedule and she couldn't cancel that.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki asked her suddenly, floating close to her face.

"I'm fine, Tikki…just tired," she replied, glancing at one of her many photos of Adrien. She waved Tikki away a little. It struck her that she should probably clean up her room and focus less on her obsession with Adrien and more on what really mattered.

"You look more than tired…," Tikki sighed. "What's really wrong?"

"But I'm really just tired…of everything. Is it so much to ask for just a few days without having to be Ladybug?" she sighed, reaching to take a photo off her wall. "For just a little while…I want to be a normal girl again…"

"Oh…I suppose I can understand that…"

"I'm going to go get some fresh air…," Marinette stood and reached to take her earrings off. More than cleaning her room, she needed some fresh air and time purely alone to think about what she was going to do.

"Marinette, what are you doing?!"

"I'll take them with me, I just need some time alone right now…," she defended herself, removing the Miraculous. Tikki was sucked into the earrings and she felt almost bad about forcing Tikki into hiding like this.

She shook her head a little and put the earrings in the case she'd found them in and put the case in her purse before grabbing her sketchbook and heading out. She walked aimlessly through the streets. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and she was thankful for that. After a while, she made her way to the steps of the Trocadéro.

She sat on the steps and opened her sketchbook. As she was drawing, she spotted Chat Noir leaping around. She frowned a little, wondering what he was up to. If she was honest with herself, she knew he was probably just on patrol. She was just being paranoid because she wasn't wearing her miraculous.

"Strange…," she muttered. "Does he know something I don't?" She shook her head a little and went back to sketching. "If it's important, I'll hear screaming…" _And my phones will go off_ , she thought sourly, suddenly regretting buying that prepaid phone for hero purposes.

"Talking to yourself?" a familiar voice said behind her. She groaned and turned a little to face Chat Noir. At least she only had to deal with him instead of an akuma. She was glad she hadn't been fully thinking aloud, since she knew that curious kitty would ask what she meant by phones when she should only have _one_.

"Yeah…people do that," she snapped.

"Grumpy today, milady?" he laughed. She paused on hearing him calling her that. She'd never heard Chat Noir call another girl besides Ladybug 'milady'. She shook her head a little, snapping out of the surprise.

"It's called being a teenager," she sighed. "And don't call me that…"

"What? 'Milady'?" he said with a grin.

"Isn't that what you call your _girlfriend_?" she bit, internally grimacing at referring to Ladybug as _his_ girlfriend. She only liked him as a friend.

"You mean Ladybug? We're technically not…," he trailed off. "As much as I'd like that…"

"What? I thought you two were…," she trailed off, crossing her fingers.

"No, whenever we're together it's for work," he explained. "I haven't even managed to tell her how I feel about her."

"You should tell her," she encouraged him. _She'll turn you down though…I'm in love with someone else…_ , she thought. She laughed a little at the irony of it all. "Look at me…giving advice when I can't even follow it…"

"You're in love with someone?" he questioned.

"Well, yes but—" she broke off. "What are you doing anyways? Stalking me?" she joked.

"No, I'm keeping an eye out for trouble," he said, folding his arms. She frowned.

"Surely you have other things to do…without the mask…," she trailed off, wondering why he was patrolling when he could be resting or something else. She figured he was about the same age as she was, so surely he had leftover summer homework or friends to hang out with.

"My schedule is _purr_ fectly clear today," he laughed, winking at her. She rolled her eyes and packed up her supplies. "So what are _you_ doing? Marinette, wasn't it?"

"I _was_ working on a few designs. I'm allowed to do that, you know! _And_ with as many times as we've talked, you should know my name by now," she snapped, standing to leave. She heard Chat Noir leave and she paused, opening her purse just long enough to look at the box with her Miraculous in it. "I'm such an idiot…I _should_ follow my own advice. No more obsessing and more acting."

She nodded to herself and ran to Adrien's home. When she got there, she caught her breath and rang the bell. She very nearly turned to leave, but she touched her purse for reassurance, even though Tikki wouldn't know what was going on at this point. Maybe it was better she didn't have Tikki or Alya right there to encourage her. With someone else there, she'd be able to talk herself out of it.

"What is it?" The secretary sighed as the camera came out.

"I'm Marinette, a friend of Adrien's. Is he home?" she managed not to stutter. She hadn't stammered around Adrien in over a year (not counting the pyjama incident), but a confession was different than a friendly conversation.

"He's at a photo-shoot."

"Oh…when will he be back?"

"Shortly. Is it important?"

"You could say that…," she sighed.

"Then you can come inside to wait for him." The camera retreated and the gate opened. Marinette went inside and stood in the foyer. To her shock, Adrien's father was standing at the top of the stairs. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What business do you have with my son?" he asked harshly. She swallowed nervously, but steeled herself.

"It's the last day of summer and I want to hang out with my friend," she groaned.

"He has plans for the day. Get out," he snapped.

"You know, you can't kick everyone who you don't like out of Adrien's life," she snapped, turning to leave. She heard a loud crash outside and ran to open the door. Sure enough, a villain was storming the home. She groaned and glared at Gabriel. "Who'd you go and tick off _this time_?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Isn't this the _fourth_ super villain who's targeted you?" she groaned, opening her purse.

"And if they followed _you_ here?" he snapped.

"The only people I've even talked to today are you and Chat Noir!" She slammed the door shut. "Don't you have some supposedly impenetrable security system or something?" she asked without thinking.

"How do you know about that?"

"I…um…Adrien mentioned it?" she sighed, though she knew she didn't sound convincing. And her day to herself was ruined yet again. She glanced around and dove through an open door into the next room. Marinette shut the door behind herself and pulled the earrings out of the box in her purse. She started to put them on.

"Visiting a friend, milady?" Chat Noir said lightly from the window. She gasped and hid the earrings.

"Well, yes. I decided to follow my own advice," she told him. "And then this guy showed up."

"Your own advice…? You mean…he lives _here_?" Chat seemed shocked by that.

"Yes, he does. Don't you have an Akuma to fight?!"

"Ah, you're right! Be safe, milady," he laughed before jumping out the window. She growled a little and looked at her earrings. She nearly didn't put them back on, but thought better of it. Chat needed Ladybug to stop the Akuma. She put the earrings on and steeled herself.

"I'm sorry, Tikki," she said when Tikki appeared. "I just…needed some time…"

"I understand. But there's trouble?" Tikki sighed.

"Right. Tikki, spots on." Marinette transformed and went the roof to cast a spell.

* * *

Chat Noir had managed not to get transformed by the akuma for once, and he was holding the villain off fairly well on his own. Luckily for his sanity, it seemed more like Reflekta had been, rather than a combination of Reflekta's transforming and Jackady's hypnotism. Finally, Ladybug arrived and he pushed the villain back to join her. She shook her head a little.

"He transforms people by making eye contact with them…and the akuma is in the pin on his lapel," she told him. He nodded slowly, about to question how she knew that. He thought better of it and grinned at her.

"Do I smell a plan, milady?" he asked lightly. She nodded and used her Lucky Charm. A blindfold landed in her hand and she grinned.

"Think you can get behind him and get this on him?" she asked, holding it out to him. He nodded. "I'll keep him distracted." He nodded and took the blindfold from her. She ran in, spinning her yoyo. Chat dodged to the side and slipped behind the guy.

He was almost distracted by Ladybug's fighting, as he noticed that she was using almost perfect martial arts (he wasn't sure what type) and he wondered why she hadn't been showing that new skill off before this. He shook his head and rushed to the villain from behind and slipped the blindfold over his face. Unlike previous villains, who would have struggled with the blindfold and would have to be bound, this one simply dropped to his knees between the heroes.

"I give up…it's not worth it…," he murmured, pulling the pin from his lapel. He started to hold it out, but he suddenly screamed and doubled over. Chat Noir watched in horror as the man's transformation was stripped away and the Akuma emerged on its own from the pin. He exchanged a confused look with Ladybug and they both watched as the akuma started to fly away.

"Ladybug, the akuma!" he gasped, snapping out of the shock of what had just happened.

"Crap, you're right!" she gasped and barely caught it before it got away. She took the blindfold off the detransformed victim and threw it in the air to set things right. They fist bumped as always and he remembered Marinette's suggestion. She was here somewhere waiting for the chaos to clear to confess to him, he may as well confess to Ladybug too.

"Ladybug, we still have a bit of time…can we talk?" he started, catching her hand before she could leave.

"Sorry, Chat Noir, I've got somewhere to be," she sighed, pulling away from him.

"It won't take a moment," he argued.

"I _really_ have to go," she insisted, leaving. He sighed heavily and went the other way, hiding near the mansion to change back. When Plagg emerged from his Miraculous, Adrien reached into his pocket for the wedge of Camembert he kept on hand.

"Seriously, Plagg? Do I need to keep the emergency cheese in a kwami proofed box?!" he groaned when he found his pocket empty. He wasn't even sure such a thing existed, but it at least got Plagg to mumble an apology. "You'll have to wait until we get into my room for food then…"

"Fine…but I'm so hungry…!" Plagg whined.

"You're always hungry," he griped, heading home.

* * *

Ladybug went back to the room she'd hidden in and changed back to Marinette. She started to take her earrings off again, but paused. Tikki gave her a look and she sighed, leaving them on. She opened her purse and Tikki flew into the space to hide.

"I'm gonna do it," she sighed.

"Do what?" Tikki whispered.

"Tell Adrien how I feel. I'm here and I'm going to tell him. Even if I'm a stuttering mess…," she sighed, stepping out of the room. She took a deep breath and looked around for Adrien's father. He didn't seem to be around, so she went to Adrien's room, planning on waiting for him to get home there.

"You certainly know the way around my home," Gabriel noted behind her, startling her. She froze, about to start fishing for an excuse. She'd completely forgotten that she'd only been to Adrien's room as Ladybug. "But it's not surprising, considering who you really are."

"W-What do you mean?" she stammered, turning to face him.

"Ladybug?"

"I-I think you're mistaken, sir…I'm not—"

"Come with me," he said, cutting her off. She paused, but he narrowed his eyes and she sighed, following him to the study. He turned on a screen and replayed footage of her transforming earlier in the day. Marinette's jaw dropped and she glanced at her bag.

"That's…"

"This _is_ you, is it not?" he questioned, pausing the video. Marinette sighed heavily, giving up.

"Yes…it's me," she relented. She should have known there would be cameras all over the place, with that advanced security system. "And what are you going to do with this information?"

"Nothing," he said with a rare smile. Marinette blinked in surprise. "Your secret is safe with me. And my son is safe with you, I see."

"Um…thank you?" she sighed, unsure. He turned the screen off and left the room. Marinette took that as a dismissal and started for the front door. She opened her purse and glanced at Tikki. The kwami sighed heavily and shrugged.

"Marinette? What are you doing here?" Adrien gasped as she made it to the foyer. She snapped her purse shut quickly and brushed a bit of her hair behind her ear.

"A-Adrien…," she gasped. _I'm going to do it_ , she thought, touching her purse for reassurance. She felt Tikki push against her hand and she nodded. "I came to see you."

"Me? Why?"

"It's…complicated," she started, almost pretending she was transformed. "Would you like to go to a movie with me? We can talk on the way."

"Sure…," he said, sounding surprised. Marinette was surprised that she managed not to stutter or get tongue-tied.

"You…don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, it'll be nice to get out and have some fun," he said with a light smile. She smiled as well and headed out with him. She was silent until they got on the subway train. "So…what did you want to talk about?"

"I…," she shook her head a little, steeling herself. "I love you, Adrien."

"Ah…," he sighed, looking away from her. She frowned.

"You…like someone else, don't you?" she asked, trying not to sound upset. Of course he would like someone else. She should have confessed much sooner, or at least signed that stupid valentine.

"Well…yeah…"

"Who is it?"

"I…um…," he trailed off, shuffling his feet.

"Oh god…It's _Chloe_ , isn't it?"

"No!" he gasped. "She's just an old friend."

"Then who is it?" she pressed, relieved that her first fear had been unjustified.

"Ladybug," he sighed.

" _Ladybug_ …?" she whispered, touching her bag. She opened it a little and glanced inside to see Tikki shaking her head furiously. _I can trust him…_ , she decided. "Then that's not a problem…because _I'm_ Ladybug."

"No you're not…," he laughed. "You're just saying that because I said I love Ladybug."

"It's true, Adrien," she argued. "I wouldn't lie to you…"

"There's no way you could be Ladybug."

"Have you ever seen us in the same place together?" she demanded.

"Well...yes. When Alix was akumatized."

"That was me from ten minutes after that! Chrono Girl had the power of time travel and she dragged me back to right before her watch was broken. That's how you saw both me and Ladybug at the same time. Name another time," she groaned.

"Right…thanks for the invite, but I've got…some homework left to finish…just remembered," he stammered, rushing to another car on the Subway. Marinette sat down heavily and put her head in her hands.

"Well…you tried, Marinette…," Tikki whispered.

"I shouldn't have said anything at all…this was a stupid plan…," she groaned. And thinking about it, after what Lila pulled with the Volpina lie, it shouldn't have surprised her that he thought she was lying. That fact didn't make it hurt any less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	2. Her Broken Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir tries to cheer Marinette up. ((Edited))

Adrien sighed as he waited for the train to stop. Of all the reasons for her inviting him to a movie, he hadn't expected Marinette to confess to him. He'd been out on the spot, and he had to choose. The problem was that His choices were sweet, awkward and steadfast Marinette and passionate, strong, and clever Ladybug. He would always choose Ladybug.

And he'd thought that Marinette would at least take it like the mature girl he thought she was, rather than lying to him just to get back at him for rejecting her. Of course he probably could have asked for proof, but he knew from experience that a miraculous could be faked and the train was too public to demand that she transform in front of him to prove her claim. Plagg floated out of his shirt and he sighed.

"Homework? Really, Adrien?" the kwami taunted. "You could have come up with a better excuse. Or just completely ground her into the dirt for that matter."

"No…I hurt her enough by rejecting her," he sighed. "As it stands, there's still a risk of her being akumatized because of this…"

"That's why you're watching her."

"Yeah…and it would be my fault…," he muttered, touching the glass of the door. "I guess I'll know now how most others feel when they hurt someone that bad…"

"Adrien…it doesn't seem like she's going to be targeted…I don't sense anything," Plagg sighed. "And remember Copycat? You were the one who made him jealous for no reason."

"Right…but that was a different situation. And still…it won't hurt to keep an eye out. He's used heartbreak before, and she's been working up the courage to confess since the start, I think…"

"Okay then…we follow her…," Plagg agreed. Adrien nodded and watched for Marinette to get off the train. When she did, he found a hidden space and transformed so if she saw him; it wouldn't be out of the ordinary. After a while of wandering aimlessly, she turned around and glared directly at him.

"Why are you following me, Chat Noir?" she snapped.

"I'm not following you," he defended himself. "Like I said earlier, I'm just keeping an eye out for danger. You…look upset."

"That's because I _am_ ," she sighed. "I told him…I told Adrien how I feel about him…"

"And he turned you down…," he tried to sound like he was guessing, rather than guilty.

"And then he called me a liar…sure I make excuses for some stuff…but I don't lie unless I _absolutely_ need to…"

"Ah…if it's any consolation, I'm sorry," he sighed, wondering if she might have been telling the truth. It was too late, though. He couldn't imagine that Ladybug would really have been that quick to out herself just because she liked someone.

"It's not. Just leave me alone, Chat Noir…I don't want revenge or anything…," she said, clearly on the verge of tears. He almost reached for her, but stopped himself. It wasn't his place to try and comfort her when he was the one who'd hurt her like this.

"Still…it never hurts to be on the lookout," he tried to sound upbeat, but he was sure he failed. "It looks like it's going to rain…I can take you home, at least?"

"No, I'll be okay," she said, turning to walk away from him. "Thanks for your concern though, Chat Noir…it's unexpected, at the very least."

He blinked in surprise and let her leave. After a few minutes, it started raining and he almost went after her. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

"What am I doing? She's not Ladybug, even if she claimed she was…," he sighed. "If she gets akumatized, I know who she'll go after and I can save her with the real Ladybug…"

He nodded to himself and headed home.

* * *

Marinette was soaked through by the time she got back home. She brushed off her parents' concerns, arguing that she'd just been caught by surprise with the rain. She headed for the bathroom and got in the shower to warm up.

"Marinette, are you sure you're okay?" Tikki asked when she was under the spray.

"I'll be fine…I just feel so stupid. I should have told him sooner. All this time…of course he would fall for Ladybug…I transform and I'm a hero…not afraid of anything because I know I can somehow win…but when I'm just Marinette…"

"You see him and you're a stuttering mess…," Tikki sighed.

"Not anymore really…," she groaned. "You know how clumsy I am…"

"Marinette, you're not _that_ clumsy…"

"You're not helping, Tikki…," she said softly, taking her earrings off and setting them on the counter. "I'm sorry…I need to be alone for now…"

She finished in the shower and dried off, wrapping a towel around her head. She went to her room and looked around. She grimaced at all the photos of Adrien and started taking them down, keeping a few of the fashion shots that she had since before she'd met him. She changed the background on her computer to a simple ladybug themed image and tore down the chart she'd made to keep track of Adrien's schedule.

When she was finished, she went back to the bathroom to clean up from her shower, putting her wet clothes and towels out to dry. She brushed her hair out and picked up her Miraculous. She sighed and put the earrings in their case, muttering another apology to Tikki, even though she knew the kwami couldn't hear her. Marinette put the case with her school things and pulled out her sketchbook.

* * *

The next day at school, Adrien took note that Marinette wasn't nearly as lively as usual. He knew it was his fault, and he was almost glad that the worst case scenario of her being akumatized wasn't how things turned out. As it was, when he sat down in the seat in front of Marinette, he turned to her, about to apologize, but she completely ignored his presence.

"Dude…have you talked to Marinette lately? She seems really bummed out about something…," Nino whispered to him.

"It's…complicated…," he sighed in reply, turning his attention to his books. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nino and Alya exchange a look and a confused shrug.

"Marinette…," he heard Alya sigh. "What's going on with you today?"

"Nothing," Marinette snapped. "I just want to listen to the lecture and work on these designs."

"Okay…"

Adrien decided to try and talk to her as Chat Noir, hopefully make sure she was going to be okay. He had to at least partially fix this, and he knew she wouldn't talk to him otherwise. He didn't want to ruin one of the few friendships he'd managed to make. He probably had, if he was honest with himself.

* * *

After school let out, Alya followed Marinette home. Marinette ignored her, wanting to get to her room to do her homework.

"Okay, what is _with_ you today?" Alya groaned as they got to Marinette's room.

"I don't want to talk about it," she sighed.

"Well, you need to," her friend insisted, pushing her into the desk chair.

"Fine," she snapped. "I confessed to Adrien."

"That's a good thing though."

"When he's in love with someone else?"

"Oh…not so good then…," Alya sighed, looking around the room. "Explains why you took down all the pictures…"

"I just need some time."

"Right…I get it. This is a rough thing to get through…"

She started to ask Alya to leave when her friend's phone went off. The familiar alert that let her know when there was trouble in town. Marinette checked her earrings and waited for Alya to rush out, apologizing on the way. She reassured her and waited to hear the front door close.

Marinette transformed and went to the find the trouble. Chat Noir was already there, holding off another victim of Hawk Moth. She used her yoyo to get the villain away from him and landed beside him.

"What's their power?" she asked, getting straight to business.

"You're being oddly purr-ofessional today, Milady," Chat noted.

"Are the puns _really_ necessary?" she snapped. "Let's just get to work."

"Right…," he sighed before explaining the situation so far to her.

* * *

When they finished, Chat Noir started to fist bump Ladybug like they always did, but she was already turning to leave. He frowned and rushed in front of her.

"What's wrong with you today, Ladybug?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped. " _Especially_ not with you." She flung her yoyo and flew away. He started to follow her, but an alert from his Miraculous stopped him. He had to get somewhere secluded to change back and feed Plagg. He sighed a little and headed in the opposite direction of Ladybug.

He made it to an alley just in time and hid behind a dumpster. He caught Plagg as the kwami emerged, exhausted from pushing it a bit longer than five minutes after using Cataclysm. Adrien sighed and reached into his pocket for the wedge of Camembert he kept on hand for emergencies like this. His pocket was empty.

"Plagg, did you eat the emergency cheese _again_?" he groaned.

"I was hungry…," Plagg defended himself.

"You little glutton! I don't have anything else for you to eat," he snapped, shoving Plagg into the empty pocket. "I'll find something though; just don't complain if it's not Camembert."

"I won't eat it!"

"Plagg, you'll eat it all right! Now shut up, I'm leaving the alley." He headed for the street and looked around. A few blocks away, he could see a familiar building. "Marinette's house…?" he sighed and checked his wallet. He nodded a little and headed for the bakery.

"Welcome," Mrs Dupain-Cheng greeted him. "What can I get for you?"

"You…wouldn't happen to have any Camembert, would you?"

"No…I don't. We do have some fresh baked Gougere, though…," she sighed.

"It'll work. How much do I owe you?" he asked, pulling out his wallet. She gave him the price and he paid for the pastries before leaving and heading for his home, putting the pastry in his pocket with Plagg. When he got home, he went straight to his room got started on his homework.

* * *

After several hours, Marinette heard footsteps on the roof. She frowned and went up to see what was going on. Chat Noir was leaning on his stick, smirking. She groaned.

"Good evening, milady," he greeted with a bow.

"Go away, Chat Noir…," she sighed.

"You're still upset," he noted.

"Yeah, you'd be upset too if you'd been both rejected and called a liar in the same go."

"Right…but he's just a boy," he reminded her.

"Yes, he's just a boy. The most charming and intelligent boy I know. But I was too afraid to outright tell him how I felt and by the time I'd built up the courage, he was in love with someone else and when I told him the _truth_ , he called me a liar," she raged, surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. She turned and started back to her room.

"Marinette, if it was that easy for him to be such a jerk to you…maybe he wasn't worth the time," he said, following her. She could have sworn she heard a wince in his tone, but she ignored it. What would _Chat Noir_ have to be upset about with _her_ problems? "Weren't there…more things on the walls in here?"

"Yeah…photos of him. Like you said…he wasn't worth the time," she sighed, sitting on her bed. "Are you here because you're still worried I'll end up akumatized?"

"It's a worry, yes…but I'm really just concerned about you," he told her. She blinked and stared at him.

"Why would _you_ care about _me_?"

"I…um…," he looked away from her. "You remind me of myself…"

"What…what do you mean?"

"Afraid to tell the person you love how you feel…," he sighed.

"Why not just tell her?"

"Because it's _Ladybug_ …she's the smartest person I know…talented…witty… _beautiful_ …just all around perfect…and I'm…," he gestured to himself, as if that was somehow effective.

"What? A bit of a show-off with an arsenal of bad puns?" she laughed a little, trying to play off the fact that she really thought he was a bit of a jerk.

"I'm supposed to be a hero and Ladybug's always saving my tail…nearly every villain we've gone up against with any sort of control abilities or hypnosis…or transformation powers…I'm the one who gets zapped," he sat down in her desk chair, dropping his head.

"But…you're Chat Noir!" she said, trying to cheer him up. "When it matters most, you're there for Ladybug. And don't think no one notices you consoling and helping out Hawk Moth's victims if you have the time…"

"Thanks Marinette…," he sighed. She stood and crossed to him.

"Look, Chaton…if I can get up the courage to tell Adrien how I feel, you can tell Ladybug," she said, pushing his shoulder a little.

"I don't know…she was acting weird today…she was all business and completely shut me down when I tried to talk to her…"

"Maybe…she was just having a bad day?" she tried, and it was the truth. Ladybug _was_ having a bad day. She was having a bad _week_ if she was honest with herself.

"Right…everyone has bad days…I'll tell her."

"All right!" she tried to sound cheerful. She knew that when he told her, she'd end up breaking his heart. "But maybe you should make sure there's not an akuma to take care of when you talk to her," she suggested, remembering Valentine's Day, when he'd probably been trying to confess to her when he got hit with that arrow.

"Right…," he said with a grin. He stood up and touched her shoulder. "Thanks, Marinette. You know just what to say to cheer someone up, you know? That's kind of a superpower too."

"Thanks…I guess…," she sighed as he ran back to the roof. She heard him leave and shook her head a little. "Too bad I also know exactly how to break your heart…and there's no avoiding it when you tell me…" She got ready for bed and stared at her ceiling for a while before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	3. Escalation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A serial killer gets akumatized. ((Edited))

Two weeks passed without even a single akuma incident, Adrien almost enjoyed the break. The only thing that kept him from really enjoying the time off was that Marinette seemed to be getting worse. She barely spoke to even Alya, always working on her school work or designs. He quickly got into the habit of checking in on her as Chat Noir, and he noticed that her designs weren't nearly as full of life as before.

He often came to her home to hear Jagged Stone playing as loud as she could get it without bothering her parents. Her room became plain, as if something had come in and stolen all the pink and colour from the space, despite no real change beyond a couple of repainted pieces. He hated that he was the one who'd done this to her, which was why he tried to at least get her to smile at Chat Noir. He could at least still be her friend with the mask since she wouldn't talk to him otherwise.

Some evenings, she was waiting on the roof for him, seeming almost eager to see him. Those were the times when she had something she wanted to show off, like a new design. There were also evenings when she had the roof access door locked and he couldn't hear her music because she had headphones in. Usually, though, she just let him in and reassured him that she wasn't going to be victimized by Hawk Moth. And over the course of those weeks, he'd gotten to know her much better.

Adrien sighed a little as he sat on his bed after visiting Marinette one night. He'd convinced himself he was only going because he was worried about her heartbreak being used by Hawk Moth, and if he could at least make sure she knew people cared about her, she'd be safe. Because despite him not loving her, she was one of his first friends besides Chloe.

"Adrien, what are you thinking? Going there every night?" Plagg asked, not for the first time.

"I've already told you, Plagg…she's still my friend and I'm worried about her…," he sighed. "I'm the one who broke her heart like this…if she gets akumatized, she'll either come after me or Ladybug…"

"I think if she was going to be akumatized, Hawk Moth would have sent an akuma to her that first day…it's been two weeks."

"She's getting worse though…it's like everything that makes her Marinette is slowly draining out of her since I rejected her…"

"And called her a liar," Plagg laughed.

"Thanks for the reminder…," he sighed. "But if she really _was_ Ladybug she wouldn't have been so quick to tell me…remember 'Volpina'? Lila lied to me too, just to impress me…"

"I remember…," the kwami sighed. "I think you should stop going to her though…"

"But when I check on her, she almost seems back to her old self…," he muttered.

"Are you…perhaps falling for her?"

"No! I still love Ladybug…but I mean…if there was no Ladybug…maybe…," he sighed. "She's a good friend…and it's my fault she's like this…"

"So you _do_ like her!" Plagg laughed, flipping in the air.

"As a _friend_!" he argued. "She's just a friend, Plagg. I'm in love with Ladybug and that's not gonna change…"

* * *

Marinette admitted that she was enjoying the time off from being Ladybug. But at the same time, she had a bad feeling about it. Usually in comics and movies when the bad guy was inactive for a long time without being completely defeated, they were plotting something. And it had already been two weeks since the last attack.

The nightly visits from Chat Noir were oddly pleasant to her. She was a little confused about it though. If he loved Ladybug, why was he constantly trying to impress _Marinette_? Unless he'd figured her out…which would mean that Chat Noir was someone she was friends with.

He couldn't have been any of her classmates who had been akumatized at any point, because Chat Noir had helped with all of them, so that left the only one in the class who she'd never seen at the same time as Chat Noir. The only person in her circle of friends who fit that description was Adrien, but she knew that Adrien couldn't possibly be that show off. And she knew that if he was Adrien, he wouldn't be going out of his way to cheer her up.

As she was walking from school one day, considering this, she heard screams. She groaned and went to an alley, opening her purse. Tikki flew out of the bag.

"Let's go, Marinette!"

"Right," she agreed. "Tikki—"

"Marinette, wait!" Tikki gasped, flying back into her purse.

"Spots on!" Marinette continued, barely registering Tikki's shout. She transformed and flung her yoyo to fly to the scene.

"Oh. My. _God_!" Alya gasped from nearby. Ladybug gasped and turned to her friend. "Marinette, _you're_ Ladybug?!"

"Oh no…," she groaned. "You saw?"

"Yep! Got it on camera too!" For emphasis, Alya lifted her phone, which was probably still recording. She hoped beyond hope that Alya wasn't streaming.

"Alya, you can't post that! You have to delete it!"

"Why should I? All of Paris is dying to know who you are."

"Alya, I'm serious…! It's called a _secret_ identity for a reason," she sighed, retracting her yoyo. "Please…delete it." She approached Alya slowly.

"Give me one good reason."

"I'm your best friend? Hawk Moth is after me and Chat Noir? If all of Paris finds out who I am, you and all of our friends are in danger…and if he finds out that _you_ know who I am…it would be worse than you becoming Lady Wi-Fi again…" she trailed off, touching Alya’s hand softly.

"Fine…," Alya sighed, deleting the video. "Luckily I wasn't live blogging…"

"I'm thankful for that…now, I've got people to help…," she sighed, stepping back and using her yoyo to fly out of the alley and to the scene. When she got there, she covered her mouth. The square was covered almost entirely in _blood_.

"Oh my gosh…," Alya gasped behind her, her phone probably up to record everything. Ladybug looked around at the bloody scene in front of them, feeling nauseous. Then, she saw the first body: Mrs Chamack, whose daughter she babysat.

"Mrs Chamack…!" she gasped, rushing to the woman to check her. Sure enough, though she hadn't completely gone cold, Nadja Chamack had no pulse. She looked around for others, but noticed that she and Alya were the only ones left in the area.

"Is she…?"

"Dead…," she whispered. She stood and tried to catch her breath and process this. Hawk Moth had either akumatized an actual criminal or someone without powers was on a killing spree. She spotted three other bodies and swayed. "I…" She noticed the blood covered ground getting nearer to her and she hoped that Alya stopped recording before everything went black, because she wasn't sure if she'd stay Ladybug.

* * *

Chat Noir landed at the scene and gasped. He counted five bodies in the area, all of them covered in blood and not moving. He started to check on them, but he spotted Alya. His eyes went wide and he looked for Ladybug. Shockingly, he didn't see her. But he did see _Marinette_ passed out in a puddle of blood. He rushed to her.

"Marinette!" he gasped, lifting her up and checking her pulse.

"She's fine…just passed out from the shock of this mess…," Alya assured him.

"Have you seen Ladybug?"

"Nope. She probably flew off after the bad guy before Marinette and I got here."

"Right…," he sighed. "Marinette, wake up…it's okay," he tried to rouse her. She moaned, but only threw up on him. "Oh wow…did you eat at the school today?" He was sure that the lunch she'd just covered him in was from the school, because her parents cooked better food than that, and since she lived within walking distance from the school, he knew she usually ate at home for lunch.

"Yeah, her parents went on a trip for their anniversary," Alya told him.

"Glad I went home for lunch then…," he muttered. "Marinette, wake up…"

"Wait…Adrien?" Alya gasped.

"What?! No—I'm not—" he stammered. "Am I that obvious…?"

"Thinking about it…yeah," she laughed. "Don't worry. I won't tell her."

"Thanks…"

"Mm…," Marinette moaned and slowly came to. "What…? Chat Noir…?"

"Yeah…you okay?"

"I…I think so…," she sighed and sat up. "What's that you're covered in?"

"Your lunch, I believe, Milady?" he sighed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah…I just wasn't expecting this…"

"It's unusual, that's for sure…," he muttered, looking around. "Can you stand?"

"I think so…," she sighed, getting up. She swayed and he caught her. "Or not…"

"Here, I'll get you home…," he grinned and lifted her up in a bridal carry. Her house wasn't far, and when he considered that she still looked nauseous, he didn't want to jostle her too much.

"Thanks…"

He carried her in silence to the bakery and got her to her room. Chat Noir set her down gently and steadied her. She smiled a little and made her way to the bathroom.

"Stay here, and be safe," he called.

"I will. And you can clean up in the other bathroom, if you want," she replied loudly as she turned on the shower. He nodded and did just that, tracking down the other bathroom and cleaning himself up. When he finished, he headed out, trying to track down the villain.

* * *

Marinette cleaned herself up and got a drink of water before she headed back to her room. She'd been caught off guard by that scene, and she seriously hoped she'd be okay for this. She also hoped that her Lucky Charm would save those people when she put things to rights.

"Marinette, are you going to be okay for this?" Tikki asked her.

"I'll be fine. I know what to expect at the scene now…," she sighed. "Will…will my power bring them back?"

"It should…," Tikki sighed.

"I hope so…," she muttered. "All right…Spots on!" She transformed and left the house, calling Alya with her charm.

"Hey Bug, you good to go?" Alya answered.

"Yeah, you'd better be safe."

"I'm in an alley live blogging, and you're on speaker, Ladybug."

"Thanks for the warning. Is Chat Noir already there?"

"Yeah, and he needs backup, big time. We're outside the Louvre."

"I'll be right there," she said lightly, hanging up and opening up the Ladyblog stream. Sure enough, Chat Noir was in serious trouble, but he was holding his own with his fencing skills against the obviously akumatized villain. She closed her charm and hurried to the scene.

"You can do it, Chat Noir!" Alya called from her hiding spot just as Ladybug arrived. He was distracted for a split second and the villain stabbed his side.

"Chat Noir!" she gasped, flinging her yoyo to knock the villain back. She rushed to help him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's not deep and he didn't hit anything vital. Thanks for coming to the rescue."

"Well, you're my teammate," she sighed, backing off.

"Right…," he sighed, putting pressure on his wound.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, it's not that bad," he laughed, checking the wound himself. "That's my blood isn't it…?" he swayed and she started to catch him.

"Seriously? You're getting woozy at the sight of your own blood?" she mocked.

"So what if I am?"

"Pull yourself together, we've got work to do," she groaned, dropping him.

"Ouch!" he griped. "Ladybug, look out!"

"Impatient there?" she sighed, blocking the sword by spinning her yoyo as a shield. "I'm serious, Chat Noir, pull yourself together. It's gonna take the both of us to take this guy down." She took a second to draw a character in the air. “I can hold him for a few minutes while you collect yourself…” she told him, glancing to see him nod.

She nodded as well and extended the string on her yoyo, chanting a short and easy spell. The string turned stiff and thickened until she was holding a staff instead of a yoyo. She rushed to attack the akuma, examining him as she fought. She figured that the akuma was in the sword, but the problem was getting the weapon away from him. She vaguely heard Alya make note of her new skills, but she kept her focus. After a few minutes, Chat Noir rejoined the fight and she backed up, releasing the spell on her yoyo and using her Lucky Charm.

* * *

It was rough, but when all was said and done, Chat Noir tried to fist bump with Ladybug. She simply turned away from him like she had before. He caught her hand to stop her from leaving. He had questions for her that they didn't have time for, but for now he had to get his feelings off his chest.

"Please, I need to talk to you," he tried.

"Not now. We're _both_ about to change back."

"It'll take two seconds," he insisted. She shook her head and yanked her hand out of his.

"Save it for next time, Chaton," she snapped, flinging her yoyo to leave. He sighed heavily and turned to Alya.

"It's been a rough day," she sighed.

"You know who she is, don't you?"

"I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone," Alya laughed. "And you're about to turn into a pumpkin, Cinder-kitty." His ring beeped and he sighed.

"Right…," he sighed, turning to the nearby police. "Ladybug was able to bring his victims today back, but they'll probably need therapy or something after this…and I don't think this was his first killing spree…"

"You're right; this guy is wanted in four different countries. We'll take it from here."

He nodded and left, hurrying to the nearest hiding place. He transformed back and checked his pockets. Fortunately, his emergency cheese was untouched, so he shoved Plagg in that pocket and started walking home, touching his side where he'd been stabbed. The wound was healed thanks to Ladybug, but it still hurt.

He got home and double checked Alya's blog. Sure enough, there wasn't anything there about secret identities. He sighed in relief that she was able to keep the secret, but he wondered how long Alya had known Ladybug's identity. He went to shower and recover from the fight. He paused in front of the mirror, noticing a light scar where he'd been hit.

"That's weird…I thought her power reversed what happened…," he muttered. "Oh well, no one's gonna see it anyways…"

When he finished cleaning up and went back into his room, he sat down at his desk. He pulled out his homework as he dried his hair with a towel. He bumped the mouse for his computer, waking the screen up. He still had the Ladyblog open, and there was a new entry. He blinked and looked at it.

"Wow Ladybug was cold today!" Alya gasped on the recorded video after talking about Ladybug’s new abilities. "Think there's some unresolved _sexual_ tension between them?"

"What?! Sexual tension?" he groaned. "I haven't even confessed to her yet…"

"Maybe she knows something you don't," Plagg laughed. "Are you going to check on Marinette tonight?"

"With what happened to her earlier? Yeah. After I skim this entry…," he sighed, looking over the written entry that Alya had posted with the video. To his relief, it seemed like more of his friend's usual speculation. When he finished, he closed out the page and got dressed. "All right, Plagg…Claws out."

He transformed and headed to Marinette's home. The roof access door was open, and the room was silent, despite the lights being on. He stuck his head into Marinette's room to find her sitting on her bed, obviously waiting for him.

"I watched Alya's live stream of the fight. You were…pretty good out there," she said lightly.

"Thanks…," he laughed, coming down. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I ate a little bit and got my homework done…"

"That's good. I saw you'd passed out and—" he broke off, not sure if he'd just been worried because she was his friend, or if it was something else.

"You…thought I'd been hurt or worse…didn't you?"

"Well…yeah…," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "You were pretty shaken up."

"Shaken up doesn't cover it…," she sighed. "But really, I'm okay now."

"That's good…"

"Why _are_ you so worried about me, Chat Noir?" she asked him.

"Well…you…," he trailed off.

"Wait…do you… _like_ me? I thought you were in love with Ladybug."

"I can't see you as a friend?"

"…You see me as a friend? I don't even know who you really are," she laughed.

"Well, it's a secret identity for a reason," he laughed as well.

"Right…"

"And since you're okay, I'll be heading out. Here's hoping we don't have to deal with another villain like that…"

"Agreed," she muttered. He frowned and almost asked what she meant. "Anyways…you were hurt earlier…I saw on the video…and it looked pretty bad…you nearly passed out."

"Oh, yeah…it was healed up when Ladybug did her thing. But it's weird…there's usually no trace of anything done by or because of the akuma…and I have a scar from it now…"

"That _is_ weird…"

He sighed and left, heading home. He was satisfied that she was okay for the night, and they had school in the morning. He hoped that he would have time on their next shared patrol to ask Ladybug about what she'd done to her yoyo before and where she'd been studying Kung Fu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	4. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are said that shouldn't be...

It was another week before an incident. In her down time, she continued working with Master Fu. She learned that her power only completely erased _magically_ caused damage and that Chat Noir’s suit had been pierced because the weapon has already been deadly before it had been enhanced by magic. Chat Noir still came by every night, though he seemed less worried about her and more like he just wanted the company. She was seeing a completely different side to him than she did when they were fighting villains.

Her phone went off and she noticed that it was her crime alert. She frowned and did a little bit of research. She didn't want to be caught off guard again. Since the last one was a wanted murderer, she figured that Hawk Moth had switched to targeting actual criminals. Sure enough, the one who was akumatized seemed to be a criminal who was convicted of grand theft while being investigated for a lighter crime. She took a look at footage of the attacks, seeing that citizens _seemed_ to be shouting their darkest secrets. It was devolving into violence and the guy was standing to the side, watching the chaos.

"Well, we should go take care of this…before anyone gets seriously hurt again," she sighed. "Spots on!" She transformed and left the house, heading for the scene.

"Welcome to the party, Milady-bug," Chat Noir greeted her.

"Looks like a blast…," she groaned. "Hawk Moth is going after criminals now…we have to be careful."

"Yeah…," he agreed. "You seem to be having a better day today," he noted.

"For now. Have you figured out his power?"

"Well, people are shouting their darkest secrets, it seems… _or_ it's like Dark Cupid again with the hate spells, but he's more violent…"

"Either way, we have to be careful." She heard something coming towards them and she looked, spotting an arrow of some kind heading right for Chat Noir. She gasped. "Chat Noir, look out!" she shouted, getting in the way of the attack.

"Ladybug!" he gasped. She started to fall, groaning in pain. "Ladybug, are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I'm just _fine_ ," she snapped, straightening up. "Why did I just do that? Taking a hit for a show-offish _jerk_ like you…," she groaned, dusting herself off. _Why did I just say that?_ She thought.

It was just the first thing that had come to her mind. That must have been the guy’s power. To make people say the first and worst things that came to mind. And before getting to know him better, she would have admitted that she really saw him as a jerk. That wasn't true anymore, though.

"What…?" he gasped, looking crushed. She intended to apologize, because she didn't really think that anymore.

"Just what I said," she griped, unable to stop herself. "You're a jerk who I only tolerate because I have to! And by the way, your jokes are more annoying than they are funny."

"Surely you don't mean that…," he sighed, reaching for her shoulder. "We're…we're partners…"

"Not anymore," she bit, shoving him back. "I can handle Hawk Moth and his minions on my own."

"But—" he started.

"Just leave." Another arrow came at them and she grabbed Chat Noir. Rather than protecting him as she'd intended, she shoved him in the way of the attack. It hit him and she smirked. "On top of it all, nearly every villain manages to hypnotize and enslave, or transform you."

"You shoved me in the way this time," he sighed. "And even with what you just said…I love you."

"I don't care," she groaned. _It's not true…_ , she thought. "How could anyone care about a complete jerk like you? Like I said, I only tolerate you because I have to." _That's not true! You're the person I trust the most!_ She thought desperately.

"Please, Ladybug…we need each other," he said, catching her hand. She glared at him and yanked her hand away from him. "Please…I don't care if you don't have any feelings for me, but we have to take care of the akuma…," his voice cracked.

"Fine," she snapped. "Just know I _really_ don't need you or your bad jokes." She flung her yoyo at the villain and dragged him to the ground.

* * *

When everything was back to normal, Chat Noir sighed tiredly and glanced at Ladybug. She didn't even look at him before leaving. He sighed again and slumped a little. He bit his lip and headed home, heartbroken. He transformed back in his room and threw himself on his bed. He buried his face in his pillow and tried not to cry. Whatever that villain's power had been, he'd only said things that were true after being hit, so he assumed that it was the same for Ladybug.

"Man, she ground you into the dirt…," Plagg sighed.

"Yeah, I know, Plagg…you don't have to remind me…," he muttered, tears starting to fall.

"It's about the time you usually go see _Marinette_ ," Plagg taunted.

"I'm not up for it, Plagg…"

"Oh, come on…what happened to 'you know just what to say to cheer someone up, Marinette'? Just go talk to her, it'll cheer you up."

"Fine…" He sighed, sitting up and wiping his face. "Eat up, Plagg…" He grabbed some cheese and threw it at his Kwami. Plagg caught it and ate it in one bite. "Ready?"

"Yep."

"All right then…claws out," he groaned, transforming.

* * *

Marinette sighed as she sat at her desk. She put her head in her hands and turned on her computer. Of course, Alya's latest entry on the Ladyblog was about both the last akuma attack and the argument she'd had with Chat Noir. She groaned and turned off the video.

"It's all right, Marinette…you were under the akuma's spell…," Tikki encouraged her.

"But it was the truth…," she muttered. "Sort of…I don't see him like that anymore…I don't know _what_ I think about Chat Noir now…"

"I'm sure Chat Noir can understand that you wouldn't have been that mean otherwise…"

"I should have figured when I saw everyone who'd been hit with those shots…if I'd just let Chat Noir get hit…then I could have turned him down gently like I'd planned…"

"Marinette, you can't beat yourself up over this…," Tikki sighed. "Next time you see Chat Noir, you can apologize to him and make things right."

"I ripped his heart out with the yoyo and crushed it…with a pair of Chloe's high heels…"

"It's not _that_ bad, Marinette…"

"Yes it is….did you see how crushed he was? I know that feeling…a little too well…"

"Marinette—" Tikki froze and hid in Marinette's jacket as the roof access opened and Chat Noir poked his head into her room.

"Marinette? You here?"

"Oh…hey, Chat Noir…," she tried to sound cheerful. He'd been there for her while she'd been getting through her own heartbreak. It was the least she could do to try and cheer him up. Especially when _she_ was the one who hurt him. "Are…you okay?"

"Not really…guess you saw the live stream on the Ladyblog?" he sighed, dropping into her room.

"I figured you'd be at home…that's where I went after…you know…"

"Yeah…but I…wanted to see you."

"Really?" she gasped. He sat heavily on her chaise.

"Yeah…," he sighed. "I don't know what I expected…"

"You know Ladybug better than anyone…," she told him, getting up to put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she wouldn't have been that mean and cruel to you if it weren't for that villain's power…"

"Yeah…but it still hurt…"

"I know…," she sighed. "Believe me…I know how you feel…"

He smiled weakly at her. She forced a smile and hugged him. He gasped and put his arms around her. Marinette froze and saw Tikki fly around behind Chat Noir. She made an ‘I don't know’ face and Tikki shrugged.

"Thanks…I feel a little better now…," Chat Noir sighed.

"Look, next time you see her, I'm sure she'll apologize. She wasn't entirely herself."

"Only because she jumped in the way of that attack…she saved me and then…"

"Hey…," she tried. "It'll be okay. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Unless…you're a kitty who doesn't like seafood…" Internally, she grimaced at the horrible joke.

"Well…," he laughed. "When you put it that way…"

"Got you to smile," she said with a grin. To be honest, she was a little surprised that he'd found that funny, but she was glad that it had gotten him to laugh.

"Yeah…thanks," he said, looking down. "I knew it was a good idea to come see you…"

"Hey…what are friends for?" she sighed. "Look, Chat Noir…I've got school in the morning…and it's been a rough day for you…"

"Yeah…you're right. Thanks again, Marinette," he laughed, standing. She paused and went to her desk. She grabbed a couple of beads and some thread from her supplies. "Um…what are you doing?"

"Just a second…," she sighed, putting together a phone charm. "A good luck charm," she said lightly, showing it to him.

"It's…great."

"Here," she sighed, offering it to him. He took it with a smile. "Your own Lucky Charm…"

"Thanks…," he lit up. "You're a great friend, Marinette." He left her room. Marinette smiled a little and sat at her desk.

"What was that about, Marinette?" Tikki laughed.

"I don't know…I just wanted to cheer him up. It's the least I can do after how much he's done to help me…both as Ladybug and Marinette…"

"But deep down you still think he's a jerk…"

"I don't know anymore…," she sighed.

* * *

When he got home, Adrien put the phone charm on his phone and smiled. He then put his phone down and looked at his ring. Maybe he'd been pining after the wrong girl all this time. The only problem was the fact that he wasn't sure if he could trust her. He still didn't understand why Marinette of all people would lie to impress him. He sighed a little and started climbing his wall.

"Adrien, are you sure you want to be climbing right now?" Plagg groaned.

"I need a distraction…and practice," he sighed.

"But you're already distracted…"

"You're not helping, Plagg," he griped, reaching the top of a section. He looked at the next section over and nodded. He started to leap the gap when Plagg flew in his face.

"You probably shouldn't do that when you're not transformed!"

"Back off, Plagg," he snapped, shooing the kwami with one hand. Plagg sighed and got out of his way. He steeled himself and leaped across. He managed to catch a hold and smirked. "See, I made it." He started to switch hands, but his foot slipped and he nearly lost his hold. "Shit!"

He started to fall and Plagg tried to help. His shoulder popped, loud and painful and he shouted in pain, losing his grip. He shouted as he fell, twisting to try and land safely. Unfortunately, he landed on his dislocated arm and he cried out in pain. He rolled over to get his weight off his arm, cradling it carefully.

"Adrien, are you okay?" Plagg gasped, flying to him. "I warned you not to try that…"

"Yeah…I know…," he groaned. "And I think my arm's broken…" The doorknob turned and Plagg flew into Adrien's shirt to hide.

"Adrien?!" his father gasped, rushing into the room. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I fell…and I think my arm's broken…," he sighed. His father rushed to his side and carefully helped him up.

"You shouldn't be reckless in here," he reminded Adrien.

"I know…I just lost my grip…"

"What happened?" Nathalie gasped, rushing into the room.

"Nathalie, get the car."

"Y-Yes, Sir," she sighed, running off. His father helped him to the front door and into the car. Once they were settled, they drove to the hospital.

It took several minutes for him to see a doctor, and even longer to get the X-Rays done and the results back. They put his shoulder back into place and put a brace on his arm, which had been fractured and very nearly broken. He was given a sling and an ice pack, along with a prescription for pain medicine.

"You're lucky this injury wasn't worse," the doctor told him while his father was signing the paperwork. "Keep it in the sling, put ice on it every few hours, and under no circumstances should you move or use this arm."

"But it's my dominant hand…," he groaned.

"If you strain your arm, the bone _will_ break. As it stands, if you allow it to heal properly, it should only be a few weeks before you're back to normal."

"Right…," he sighed. _And if my arm breaks, Chat Noir will be out of commission for months and Ladybug can't fight these new villains alone_ , he thought. "Rest my arm…got it."

When his father returned, the doctor repeated the instructions and left. Dismissed, they went back to the car and drove to a twenty-four hour pharmacy to fill the prescription. Once that was done, they returned home and Adrien took his medicine before heading to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	5. Snapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien breaks his arm (on Chloe's face).

The next day, Marinette woke up late and rushed to get ready for school. She grabbed her bags and rushed to the school, glad that her school was still Francois DuPont and that it was across the street from her home. She fortunately made it on time. When she got to the classroom, she noticed that Adrien’s arm was in a sling and he looked beyond exhausted. She frowned, but went to her seat without saying anything since she knew that Nino would ask and she could easily hear the explanation from her seat.

"Dude, what happened to your arm?" Nino asked Adrien.

"I fell off my climbing wall," he sighed. Marinette blinked in surprise. She assumed that if he wasn't careful on that thing, his father would have uninstalled the holds. She wouldn't be surprised if he was personally removing them at that moment.

"You never fall…"

"Yeah…I was distracted…"

"Seriously? By what? A _girl_?"

"What? No," Adrien gasped. Nino snatched up Adrien's phone and Marinette's eyes went wide as she spotted the new charm hanging from it.

"Then where'd you get _this_?" Nino laughed. Marinette could have answered that. It was the charm she'd given to _Chat Noir_ the night before. Adrien snatched his phone back and shoved it into his bag.

"A friend," he snapped. "It's none of your business, Nino…"

"Marinette?" Alya asked quietly.

"I gave that charm to Chat Noir last night…," she whispered, barely sure she actually said it aloud. Alya blinked at her. Chloe came in just then.

"Adrikins, what happened to your arm?"

"It's not your business, Chloe," he sighed. "Leave me alone."

"Oh, come on…," she tried again, touching his shoulder. He winced in pain.

"Don't touch me. I pulled my arm out last night…"

"We can be careful."

"Chloe, he said to leave him alone," Alya groaned. Chloe persisted and Adrien pushed her off with his good hand.

"Is there something wrong here?" their teacher sighed, coming into the room.

"Adrien's already asked her to leave him alone, Ma’am," Nino sighed.

"Chloe? Do we need to go to the principal?"

"Like it would do anything? You _know_ who my father is," Chloe snapped, sitting down.

Marinette sighed a little and tried to focus on her school work. Alya tried to talk to her, but she ignored her, lost in thought. The charm confirmed it. Adrien was Chat Noir. And he'd gone out of his way after hurting her to cheer her up. And thinking about it, she should have seen it sooner.

Before she knew it, it was lunch time and she went home on autopilot to get lunch. She sat at her desk with food and stared at her supplies. This whole time she'd been in love with someone who somehow was both kind to a fault and a ridiculous show off with terrible comedic timing. And she _should_ have seen it. He was allergic to feathers of all things, the fencing training, and any time it seemed like Adrien was missing or in danger, Chat Noir was there. Of course she could think of all the clues and signs now that she'd figured him out.

"Marinette," Tikki said, startling her. "That _was_ the charm you gave Chat Noir last night."

"Yeah…and I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner…”

" _He's_ Chat Noir," the kwami said softly.

"Yeah…but…why would he have done so much to cheer me up when…?" she trailed off, turning her attention to her food. She heard someone going up the stairs to her room and Tikki hid in her shirt just before Alya flung the door open and pushed Adrien into the room.

"Stay in there until you two have kissed and made up," she demanded, shutting the door. "Or had makeup sex, whichever comes first."

"Alya!" he groaned, trying to open the door. It was clear that Alya was pulling it closed. Adrien shook his head and climbed to the roof.

"You can't shimmy down the drain pipe with an injured arm, Chaton…," Marinette sighed.

"I can—“ he broke off and stared at her. “What did you just call me?”

"She'll just drag you back up here…," she groaned, ignoring his question for the moment. "And the kiss or sex thing isn't happening, Alya!" she shouted at her friend. Adrien gave up and sat on her chaise, almost mirroring Chat Noir's usual pose.

"Marinette…why did you call me ‘Chaton’?" he asked after a moment.

“I saw the charm on your phone…,” she sighed. “And I can't believe I didn't see it before.”

“Oh…I guess I should have put it on my other phone…,” he sighed.

"You bought a phone for hero stuff too?” She laughed a little.

"Yes…but you're still going with the Ladybug lie?”

"I didn't lie! And besides the phone,” she showed him her second phone, which was a small, older model slider phone that was almost shaped like a circle and painted red with black spots. “I can prove it," she sighed, opening her jacket a little. Tikki shook her head, glaring at her. "Come on, Tikki…"

"What…?"

"Tikki…she's my kwami," she explained. "If you don't come out, we'll do it the hard way…" Tikki shook her head again. "Fine…Tikki, spots on."

* * *

Adrien's eyes went wide as Marinette transformed in front of him. He almost immediately slumped, his face falling. Not only had she been telling the truth, but she'd encouraged him to confess. All that encouragement when she knew that she was going to break his heart. Ladybug made a wide gesture.

"See?"

"I don't get it…why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you—" he broke off, realizing that it might have been the same as his reason for cheering _her_ up. He shook his head and headed to the door. "Alya let me out."

"Not happening!"

"Come on, Adrien," Plagg laughed, flying out of his shirt.

"That's…"

"Plagg!" he groaned.

"What? She showed you hers. And she had you pegged anyways."

" _Why_? Why did you come here after that?"

"Hawk Moth's used heartbreak before…and you're my friend…," he sighed.

"And then you came here again when _I_ broke _your_ heart…"

"Yeah…because we're friends…," he reminded her. "And I meant what I said yesterday." The things she'd said during the fight the day before were still fresh in his mind, and he winced.

"I wouldn't have been that harsh if it weren't for that attack…you know that."

"But it was still the truth, wasn't it?"

"No, maybe before, but not anymore…," she sighed, dropping her transformation. He flinched and pulled his phone out.

"So which should I believe? What you said under a truth serum or when you were just trying to cheer me up?" He started to take the charm off of it. Marinette stopped him.

"Adrien…," she started. "I've _never_ seen you as a jerk with the mask on…a show-off with a lot of bad puns maybe, but never a jerk…"

He sighed heavily and went to the door, pulling on it again. Alya finally let him leave and he glared weakly at her. She shrugged and he went back to the school, sitting heavily in his seat in the classroom. Nino sat beside him after a few minutes and he sighed.

"Dude…you okay? You look like someone just punched you in the gut…"

"She may as well have…," he sighed.

"What?"

"Nothing…it's not a big deal," he said, forcing a smile. Nino shook his head.

"Okay, if you've got problems with a girl, just say so…"

"I'm okay, Nino," he insisted. He mostly just had a lot to think about. The rest of the class returned from lunch and he looked at Marinette. She sighed and pulled out her sketchbook. He looked at his desk.

"Adrikins, what is _with_ you today?" Chloe demanded, putting her hand on his injured shoulder. He winced in pain.

"Get off, Chloe," he groaned. She frowned and put more weight on him. "Ouch! Get off my shoulder!" He shoved her back with his good hand. "Or didn't you notice that I'm in a sling or _hear_ when I said I pulled my arm out last night?!"

"What even happened?" she pressed, putting her hand back on his shoulder.

"I fell. And I'm not in the mood for you today, Chloe, so go away," he snapped.

"Well…," she laughed, leaning in and putting her hand on his chest. His jaw dropped. "Why don't we slip off to the janitor's closet and I can _make_ you in the mood for me…" She twirled her fingers on his chest and he gagged.

"Ew! Get the hell off of me!" He shoved her back and she stumbled, hitting her chair.

"Seriously, Chloe?" Marinette sighed. Chloe rolled her eyes and approached Adrien again. "For once in your life, take no for an answer and back off."

"No one asked for your opinion, _freak_ ," Chloe griped. Adrien stood and back handed her, using his injured arm without thinking. Pain shot through his arm and he heard the bone snap.

* * *

Marinette's eyes went wide as Adrien slapped Chloe hard enough to floor her. At the same time, she heard a loud snap as Adrien's arm broke. She jumped up and went to check his arm, stepping on Chloe's hand in the process. His arm was bent awkwardly in such a way that she could tell that it was seriously broken.

"Fuck!" Adrien shouted in pain. She winced and the teacher burst into the room.

"What on earth happened in here?"

"He just broke his arm, ma'am," Nino said quickly.

"Ah, get to the nurse then. And I'd like an explanation?"

Marinette helped Adrien to the nurse and explained the situation to the woman. The nurse went to the phone and called Adrien's home. Nino came in after a few minutes with Adrien's bag. Adrien pulled a bottle of pills out and took one. Marinette sighed a little. The door slammed open after a few minutes and the mayor came into the office.

" _Where_ is my daughter?" he demanded.

"Probably in the principal's office," she groaned. "Considering Adrien's about to go to the hospital thanks to her…"

"What?!"

"Just what I said," she sighed. "Chloe was all over him, even suggested going to the janitor's closet for sex…and he slapped the shit out of her. Not to mention she pulled the ‘my father's the mayor’ card again earlier…" The mayor narrowed his eyes and stormed to the principal's office.

"I slapped her because she called you a freak…," Adrien sighed.

"She's called me worse," she shrugged. They soon heard shouting and Chloe screaming from the office. "Oh wow…he's letting her have it…"

"Yeah, no kidding…I think I just heard him say he's sending her to a convent…"

"Since that camp he sent her to last summer didn't help? And…you can understand what he's shouting?"

"Yeah…I think it's the cat rubbing off…," he laughed. "Oh…ouch…"

"What?"

"They're _protestant_ ," he sighed.

"Oh…damn."

"And…my father's here…," he groaned. Sure enough, after a moment, Gabriel Agreste came into the office.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Father…"

"Except his arm's completely broken…," Marinette sighed. "Because _Chloe Bourgeois_ couldn't keep her hands to herself…"

"I've already called the hospital, Sir," the nurse offered.

"And where is Miss Bourgeois?" he asked with ice in his tone.

"The office. Just follow the shouting," Adrien sighed.

"I'll take you, Sir," the nurse sighed, heading into the hall. Gabriel followed her out and he glanced back at Marinette. She nodded a little to assure him that she could take care of Adrien and he smiled before vanishing down the hall.

* * *

Adrien sighed tiredly. The pain killer was barely working, but oddly having Marinette with him helped. She touched his good hand reassuringly and he smiled a little. He wasn't sure where they stood, and he knew they would need to talk when they had a chance, but he was glad she was at least talking to him again.

"So…what was with that look before my father left?"

"Oh…he knows," she sighed. He stared at her. "Cameras…"

"Ah…yeah…that's the reason I only ever transform in my room…," he sighed.

"Right…it was an emergency and I didn't know about the cameras…"

"Yeah…he's kind of paranoid…both of my parents were, really…but my dad is worse…"

"I've noticed…," she muttered. He shook his head a little and started to thank her for staying with him, when he heard heels clacking on the floor outside.

"Sounds like Nathalie got impatient…," he sighed. "And that's good, because this pain is starting to get unbearable again…" Nathalie came into the office.

"Where's your father, Adrien?"

"Principal's office, probably making the mayor and Chloe feel like utter crap…I've never seen him that angry…”

"He _is_ good at that…," Nathalie laughed. "We should go ahead and go to the hospital. Your father will meet us there."

"Is it okay if Marinette comes with us?" he asked, almost eager. If nothing else, she was one of his best friends. Nathalie nodded. He smiled at Marinette and she went with them to the car. It hit him as everyone got settled in the car that this was probably the worst thing he could have done. With a broken arm, he'd be useless as Chat Noir, and with the new villains, Ladybug definitely needed him, even if she could somehow do magic and fight hand to hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	6. Help Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paris needs more heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One won’t be who you expect...

Marinette was glad that the car ride was quiet. The situation had caught up with her, and she realized just how serious this was. Beyond Adrien making his injury worse because of Chloe bullying her, this put _Chat Noir_ out of commission and she couldn't deal with the new villains on her own. She knew that he would feel horrible about it.

On top of that situation, she had to figure out where they stood. They'd both ripped the other's heart out, so to speak, but they were partners. She would always be able to trust him with her life, and she hoped that he would at least be able to keep the same trust with her. But if she was honest, she worried the most about Adrien and how he was dealing with all of this. Just as they arrived at the hospital, she pulled out her phone and called Master Fu. There was no answer, so she assumed he must be out, since he didn't have a cell phone.

"Darn it…I was going to ask him to bring some tea…," she sighed.

"Who?" Adrien asked as they walked to the emergency room.

"Master Fu. He was just teaching me about different tea based spells…," she said softly so Nathalie wouldn't hear. "We were only on the basics and a pain killer, but I want to say I saw in his recipe book one to speed healing…"

"Right…you can't deal with things alone…," he sighed.

"I'm sure I could ask him to enlist some help, so you can take the time to rest and recover," she offered, sitting in a chair while Nathalie checked Adrien in at the desk. "There's no rush to heal up…"

"But there is…I can't have a broken arm right now…not when Hawkmoth is trying to kill us…"

"Chaton…," she sighed. "Master Fu is the guardian of the Miraculous…he has dozens that we can find someone to help with. And besides, there's already someone else with a Miraculous in the city…surely Paon Royal could come out of retirement long enough for you to recover if there's no one else."

"A retired hero? Why didn't they show up when Hawkmoth started all this?"

"He retired years ago…he's probably out of practice…," she admitted. "Apparently his wife also was a hero and they retired at the same time…and there were details Master Fu didn't know…she vanished a couple of months before Hawkmoth appeared…and Paon was guarding the Miraculous Book until—"

"Wait…that coded book about superheroes that vanished from my bag…?"

"One and the same…Lila swiped it from your bag in the library and then I had to dig it out of the _trash_ …"

"You were spying on me?"

"No. I was spying on _Lila_. Because all the stories I was hearing about her didn't add up. I'd never met her, much less saved her…and the only people Jagged writes songs about are Ladybug and Penny…even if Penny doesn't catch on to that…so I was suspicious about her…"

"Then she stole the book and what…? Bought a replica of the Fox Miraculous? Because I'd seen it in the book…it was a perfect match…"

"I guess…I went to the shop she'd got it from and they had several Miraculous replicas…even some pretty expensive Ladybug earrings…I haven't had a chance to mention it to Master Fu in between training and lessons."

"So that's where you learned Kung Fu?"

"And magic…I can barely apply spells in—" she broke off as Nathalie joined them.

"The nurse should be right out," Nathalie sighed. "Adrien, what happened?"

"Chloe wouldn't get off me, and then she called Marinette a freak when she said something…," Adrien explained. "I didn't even think about my arm being hurt…"

"I see…," Nathalie murmured. "So are you two dating then?"

"What? No," Marinette gasped. "We're just…"

"Friends. Marinette was one of my first friends when I started at school…," Adrien finished for her. She nodded a little.

* * *

After what seemed forever, Adrien and Marinette were left alone in a room while the adults did the paperwork and got things together for him to get a cast. He smiled weakly at Marinette. She smiled back at him. She moved to check the hall before sitting back down.

"Tikki, watch the door," she said as her kwami came out of hiding. The creature nodded and vanished completely.

"How did—" he gasped and then pulled his jacket open to glare at Plagg. "Kwamis can turn invisible?!"

"If we want," Plagg said with a shrug. He groaned.

"Great…would have been nice to know we don't have to be so paranoid about people seeing you…"

"That was my reaction too," Marinette sighed. "But anyways…once things are taken care of here…I'll go to Master Fu's and talk to him about getting some help."

"Okay. I'm really sorry about this, Marinette…I should have stopped to think what would happen if—"

"Stop," she cut him off. "You can't beat yourself up over this." He sighed tiredly.

"You're my partner. If something happened to you because I was stupid and hurt myself…," he trailed off.

"Glad to know you'll still work with me…"

"I think somewhere along the way I fell in love with you a second time," he admitted. And thinking about it, he had.

"That came a bit late, don't you think?" she sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"Marinette, where do we stand?" he asked her after a beat. She looked at the ground and for a second he was terrified that she wouldn't even want to work with him as heroes anymore.

"I…right now…," she paused. "No matter what else we're putting ourselves through…I can trust you with my life. My heart…not right now…"

"I…I guess I can understand that…," he sighed. "So what are we going to do?"

" _You_ are going to recover. I'll talk to—" Marinette broke off as Tikki appeared between them.

"The Great Guardian is coming!" the kwami squeaked.

"That's surprising…," Marinette muttered. "How did he know we were here?"

"Wait…you said that Paon Royal had the book about the Miraculous…I found that book in my _father's_ safe," he said slowly.

"Was there a peacock brooch in the safe too? Or anything else relating to the Miraculous?" she asked just as a knock came at the door.

"Well, it might have been a brooch…I don't know," he answered slowly. "Come in…!" An old man came into the room and Marinette stood to bow to him. "Wait…you're…"

"Adrien…this is Master Fu," Marinette sighed.

"You're the old man that had fallen outside the school…," he gasped.

"Ah, yes…you remember that, I see."

"I remember everything that happened that day," he sighed. "How did you know where I live when it was in front of the school…?"

"That doesn't matter," the old man laughed. "I brought tea to speed your healing. Gabriel will know how to dispense it." He put a box on the table with Adrien's bag.

"Master, we need help…," Marinette sighed.

"I know. Gabriel mentioned that on the phone," he laughed. Adrien sighed a little. "I brought this as well." Fu produce a familiar looking case out of his pocket and gave it to Marinette. "Give it to someone you trust. If you need more help, I will give another Miraculous."

"Thank you, Master…I know just who to give this to."

"Alya?" Adrien guessed.

"Yep."

* * *

Alya was in the classroom, taking dedicated notes. In front of her, Nino was doing the same. As she worked, she wondered what would happen next. Knowing that Adrien was Chat Noir, she knew that he couldn't fight with his arm like that. And Marinette couldn't fight the new homicidal villains on her own.

As the class was dismissed for the day, she decided to ask Marinette how to get a Miraculous so she could help. She assured the teacher that she'd give Marinette the notes and assignments for the day before heading to the Dupain-Cheng home. She went in through the bakery and bought a snack before heading up to her friend's room. Her phone went off as she started up the stairs.

"Hey, Marinette," she said lightly when she answered. "Are you home already? Or did you and Adrien decide to risk it with his arm?"

"What? No! I'm home, and we need to talk. In person," Marinette sighed.

"Good thing I'm already here," she laughed. For emphasis, she knocked on Marinette's door. The door swung open and the two of them ended the call and put their phones away. "I brought your homework and notes from this afternoon. Chloe's been suspended, and I think she's a couple of threads shy of a breakdown…"

"Not surprising on the Chloe front…and thanks for the notes…," Marinette laughed. Alya pulled out her tablet and sent the files to her friend.

"So…what's the plan? With Adrien out of commission, you can't handle the new villains on your own…"

"Yeah…which is why…," she trailed off. "You remember when we first met and I became Ladybug…and I asked if you wanted to be a hero?"

"Of course I do. And I still do," she said confidently.

"Okay then." Marinette pulled a case out of her bag and held it out. Alya took it and opened it. For a split second, she saw a pendant that looked almost like a fox tail, but before she could really examine it, the jewel started glowing and Alya dropped the box in surprise. "Don't freak out…that's normal."

A fox-like creature appeared in the air over the dropped box and it yawned. Alya yelped and pulled one of her books out. She smacked the creature across the room with her book and braced for it to come at her.

"What is that?!" she gasped.

"Your kwami. They won't hurt you…," Marinette sighed.

"A…kwami?"

"I'll explain to her," the kwami sighed, floating towards her. "First off, my name is Trixx. And a kwami is the source of a Miraculous' power. Your power would be the power of musical magic. There are many spells at your disposal, but you must be careful which one you cast, as you only have one chance to use it, as you will lose your powers five minutes after the effect is spent." Alya nodded slowly.

"So…how will I know how to cast them?"

"The tune you play on your flute determines what spell you use, and the tunes will come to you when you envision the spell."

"Okay…I think I got it."

* * *

At the same time, Sabrina was listening to Chloe gripe about the day. Of course it was somehow _Sabrina's_ fault that Chloe had failed all of the recent homework they'd gotten back that morning. She honestly wasn't paying attention, since she knew that it was Chloe's own fault that _Chloe's_ day had involved abruptly failing school and then was suspended for sexual assault and bullying.

"Have you ever considered…," she started when Chloe paused for air. "That maybe…all of the things going wrong are _your_ fault?"

"What are you saying, Sabrina?" Chloe snapped. "How could it be _my_ fault? You whined to my father—"

"Actually, I didn't. I've dutifully done your homework for you because you said 'that's what friends do'!" she groaned. "When I thought that I was going to get a new friend in Marinette, I did her Geography homework for her. And you know what she did?"

"What?"

"She only took it because I got upset about it. All of the other groups of friends work together equally. No one does anyone else's homework or take the blame for another's wrong doing. You know…things _I've_ been doing for you since we met."

"Well then they aren't—"

"Real friends?" she bit, cutting Chloe off. "I'm starting to think it's the other way around. So you can deal with being a nun or boot camp or whatever without me. And…," she trailed off, pulling the pin Chloe gave her off of her sweater. "You can take this back." She started to put the pin on the table.

"You can't break off our friendship! Without me you're _nothing_!"

"That's not true," she sighed. "Without you…I'm the person I want to be." She put the pin down and started for the door.

"Fine! But don't come _crying to me_ when you fail!"

"Don't worry about that!" she snapped, yanking the sweater she was wearing off and throwing it at Chloe's face. She then left the room and stormed to the elevator. After pushing the button for the first floor, she leaned against the back wall and laughed a little. For once, she noticed that music was playing softly in the elevator and she started humming with it, feeling liberated and happier than she'd ever felt.

The elevator stopped and she decided to go to Marinette's to apologize for helping Chloe bully her. She paused as she got to the sidewalk outside, remembering again the time she'd done Marinette's homework for her and how she'd compared Marinette to Chloe because she'd said something had come up and they couldn't work on that project together until the next day. She realized that maybe something _had_ come up for Marinette and she'd been a complete bitch for no reason.

She decided to apologize for that too and started for the bakery. As she started, she heard someone groan in pain and she looked to see and old man on the ground. Her eyes went wide and she rushed to help him up and pick up his nearby cane. She checked him for injury.

"Are you all right, sir? You're not hurt?" she asked him.

"No, I'm fine," he replied with a smile. She sighed in relief and started to pull out her phone.

"Do you want me to call a lyft or something for you?"

"No, thank you miss. I don't live far from here."

"I could walk with you, then," she offered.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine," he assured her before he started to hobble away on his cane. Sabrina watched him for a minute before she turned to go on her own way. She noticed a box on the ground and she picked it up.

"Sir? I think you—" she broke off as she turned to look for the old man, but he was gone. "Dropped…this…where'd he go?" she sighed a little. "Well…he seemed kind of familiar…almost like the old man I've seen Marinette doing some sort of Tai Chi in the park with…maybe she can return this to him." She put the box in her bag and went on her way. She got to the bakery and it was busy. "Is Marinette home?" she asked Sabine Cheng.

"I think so. Go on up, I've got customers to take care of," Sabine sighed, ringing someone up for their purchases and giving them their pastries. Sabrina nodded and went up to Marinette's room.

"To think last time I was up here I tried to steal her diary…," she muttered to herself as she approached the bedroom door. She knocked lightly on the door and pulled out the old man's box. She was just about to knock again when the door opened and Marinette stared at her.

"Sabrina? What are you doing here?" she asked. "What happened to your sweater?"

"I threw it at Chloe's face," she sighed. "And…I came to apologize to you." She noticed Alya in the room as well. "May as well apologize to you, too, Alya…since you're here…"

"Apologize for what?" they both asked.

"Helping Chloe bully you. I was a real bitch hanging out with her…," she said softly. "So I'm sorry."

"Well…apology accepted," Marinette said gently. Alya nodded in agreement and Sabrina sighed in relief.

"I also wanted to apologize for being a complete bitch to you when we had that group project. I didn't even pause to think that maybe you actually _did_ have something that came up…"

"Well, the guy that attacked Chloe in the library…Dessinateur…he pressganged me into a date that evening…"

"Oh…I'm so sorry," she sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Marinette laughed. "Um…what's that you've got there?"

"Oh!" she gasped, remembering about the box. "This old guy dropped this and I thought he might be the guy I've seen you in the park with a few times so…could you get this back to him?" She offered the box to Marinette.

"No, he's weird about things, but he meant for you to find it."

"What? Why?"

"You'll understand when you open it…and please don't freak out. I've had enough kwamis attacked in my room for one day."

"Kwamis? What are you talking about?" she asked as she opened the box. A hair pin that looked like it had a bee on the top of it was inside, but it started glowing before Sabrina could really examine it. She gasped and threw the box. A bee-like creature appeared and she screamed before searching for something to throw at it.

"It's not going to hurt you!" Marinette gasped.

"She's right, Sabrina," the creature said, flying towards her. Sabrina squealed and slapped it away. "Good arm…but really, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Pollen, and you've been chosen to be a superhero!"

"A-a superhero…? Like…Ladybug and Chat Noir? But I—"

"Whatever you did with Chloe doesn't matter. What matters is the person you want to be," Marinette encouraged her.

"O-Okay…so…what kind of hero…?"

"Glad you asked! You would be able to fly, and enhanced senses of course…your special power would be called Honeycomb, which would capture anything that comes in contact with it, and the construct can be as large or small as you envision it. You mentioned Chat Noir? Their kwami is Plagg, right?" Pollen paused to look at Marinette. She nodded and Pollen sighed. "Okay then, this will be interesting. The Honeycomb is a direct opposite to the Cataclysm, so Chat Noir would have to be careful not to be caught in the construct…the Cataclysm would be cancelled out by it. After using Honeycomb, you have five minutes before you lose your powers."

"Right," she sighed. "I don't know if I'm up for this though…"

"That's what I thought when I first became Ladybug," Marinette laughed. "You'll do fine. And with—" she was cut off by several phones going off. "Oh yay…a chance for both of you to break in your new powers…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I make no claims of knowing what any of the other Miraculouses powers are, so don’t be disappointed if my headcanons here are wrong when the others are revealed in the show. And I do have plans for Chloe beyond supreme bitchiness.  
> Hit me up on tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)  
> Ladybug's new suit design is [here](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com/post/162385474831)


	7. Test Runs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new Heroines go for a test run.

Adrien's phone alerted him to an incident, and he immediately switched his ring to his good hand. Plagg flew over to try and stop him and he started to shoo him off. The kwami persisted and Adrien groaned, standing up.

"Adrien, you _just_ got home from the _hospital_!" Plagg snapped.

"Plagg, she needs my help," he argued. "What if it's another criminal that he's akumatized? Or have you forgotten that Hawkmoth is trying to _kill us_?!"

"Your arm is broken and she's probably already talked to Alya about helping out."

"I'm serious, Plagg…surely I can help even a little…"

"I'm serious too! I'm not going to help you transform with your arm like this!"

"You don't really get a choice…I say the words and—" Plagg actually hissed at him and flew out of the room before he could finish. Adrien groaned and rubbed his shoulder carefully. He knew Plagg was right, but if Marinette hadn't had a chance to talk to Alya or their friend had declined the Miraculous, she'd need him.

He started to leave the room to find Plagg, knowing from experience that he couldn't transform if Plagg wasn't near enough for his Miraculous to drag him in for the transformation. He opened the door and saw his father standing in the hall with Plagg hovering over his shoulder. He grimaced.

"Adrien, your arm is broken," Gabriel reminded him.

"I know, but—"

"And Marinette has help," he cut him off. Adrien groaned.

"You don't know that for sure, Father!" he argued. "What if—"

"She has help, Adrien," he repeated. "And I'm sure she'd rather you stay home and recover than put yourself at risk."

"Fine…I'll stay home…," he sighed, giving up.

"And until the doctor releases you to continue your fencing lessons, you'll let Marinette and the new heroes handle Hawkmoth."

"What if they need me before then?"

"They'll be fine. Can I trust you not to do anything reckless?"

"You know the answer to that already, Father…," he sighed. Adrien knew that he'd run right into danger if he thought Ladybug needed his help. Just like he wanted to ignore his father and transform right then and there to run and help her. He didn't know what powers Alya would have, and he remembered his first time saving Paris.

"Then you have two choices…," Gabriel sighed.

"What?"

"I can either install cameras in your room, or—"

" _Absolutely not_!" he gasped.

"Then I'll have to ask you to give me your Miraculous until your arm is healed up," he said sharply, holding out his hand.

"But, Father, what if—"

"Does he know who you are?"

"Well, I don't think so…but…," he trailed off, remembering when Marinette went camping and he very nearly ended up akumatized.

"I know the importance of the Cat Ring, Adrien. It's safe with me."

"Fine…," he groaned and took his ring off. He gave it to his father. "As _soon_ as the doctor clears me…"

"As soon as the doctor clears you for fencing," he agreed, turning to leave. Adrien went to his desk and opened up the Ladyblog, hoping that somehow there was a live stream of the attack. If nothing else, Nino was introducing himself to Alya's followers.

* * *

Marinette smiled a little as she finished putting a protection spell on Alya and Sabrina's Miraculouses. They were pressed for time, but from the look of news reports, it was a 'normal' akuma that wasn't a dangerous criminal. Alya was the first to transform.

"So what are you gonna call yourself?" Sabrina asked.

"I was thinking either Volpina or Vixen…," Alya said lightly. "I can't decide. What do you guys think?"

"Well…," Marinette trailed off. She liked the name Volpina, but it left a sour taste in her mouth because of what had happened. "It's up to you, Alya."

"I'll decide after we get this taken care of," she decided. Sabrina transformed next and Marinette examined their costumes. Her spell had worked as far as she could tell. "What about you, Sabrina?"

"Bumblebee?"

"Well, the last person who had the Bee Miraculous called herself Queen Bee…," Marinette suggested, grimacing a little at 'Bumblebee'.

"I like Queen Bee," Alya laughed. "Bumblebee doesn't suit you…implies that you're a follower still."

"Then Queen Bee…"

"Okay then. Let's go for a test run." Marinette called for her own transformation, envisioning the design she'd come up with for an updated suit.

"Dang, girl! That's a cool new suit," Alya laughed.

"Thanks. I've been working on different designs for this…," she said with a shrug before leaving the room from the roof. Alya and Sabrina followed her and they came to the scene.

* * *

When they finished with the Akuma, Alya fist bumped Ladybug. At the same time, Sabrina tried to join in, but she missed and literally punched Alya on the gut. She gasped and doubled over.

"I'm so sorry!" Sabrina gasped.

"You're fired, Bee," she joked, catching her breath. Ladybug giggled a bit.

"We'll practice that later," she promised before the media surrounded them. Alya spotted Nino with his new camera among them and she was glad that he'd already agreed to help her with the Ladyblog.

"Ladybug!" Nadja Chamack called. "Where is Chat Noir?"

"Who are you two?" another reporter asked.

"Are you here to stay?" one added.

" _Where_ is Chat Noir?" Nino called over the crowd.

"One answer at a time," Ladybug laughed. "Chat Noir is out of town. I don't know details, because that's his business, not mine."

"And I'm Volpina," Alya said lightly.

"I'm Queen Bee," Sabrina added, smiling.

"And are you here to stay?" Nadja asked them. Alya nodded.

"I know I am."

"Same here," Sabrina agreed.

"Okay then."

"Volpina!" One of them called. "What happened to the other Volpina? The one who stopped the meteor a couple of years ago."

"That was one of Hawkmoth's victims," Ladybug told them before Alya could ask about what they meant. She had no idea that someone recently had used that name. "A fake, as it were."

"Okay then…and Queen Bee. Are you related to the previous Queen Bee?"

"No, I'm not," Sabrina said without missing a beat. Miraculouses started beeping in warning and Alya checked her pendant. The fade was almost gone.

"We've gotta get going," she muttered.

"Right. Sorry, but we're out of time!" Ladybug swung her yoyo and flew off. Alya and Sabrina followed her back to the bakery. They barely made it into the room before transforming back.

* * *

The next day, Marinette invited the others to her home for a 'team meeting', since they didn't have school. She was in the middle of cleaning her room and setting out the snacks, having claimed to her parents that they had a group project for school. Alya was the first to arrive, coming in with barely a greeting to her parents and sitting on the chaise.

"So we're all over the tabloids," Alya laughed, pulling a copy of every daily tabloid available and the newspaper out of her backpack. "Fortunately, everything's good but dang…I've never had this many pictures of me taken at once…"

"You'll get used to it," Marinette laughed. "It's part of being a hero…"

"I know. Public service announcements…photo shoots…paparazzi claims in the tabloids over you and your partner holding hands while eating pastries on patrol…"

"He was upset about something that had happened to a friend," she defended herself. "I was trying to comfort him."

"So was it really a friend or was he talking about himself?"

"All things considered…probably himself," she sighed. "Anyways!"

"Right…I bought a no contract phone for hero stuff…is that weird?"

"Not at all. I have one too," she laughed and pulled out her 'ladybug' phone. "So does Adrien."

"Okay then. That makes me feel better."

Sabrina came up just then, perfectly timed with the phone in Marinette's hand going off. She frowned and checked it. Fortunately, it was a phone call rather than a crime alert.

"Do we need to suit up?" Alya asked.

"No, it's just a phone call," she said lightly. "Is something wrong, Mr Agreste?" she asked as she answered the phone. She saw Alya's jaw drop and she shrugged.

"Adrien told me that you all were meeting up at your home," Gabriel said lightly.

"Yes, sir…we are," she replied.

"Might I suggest moving the meeting to my home?"

"That…might be a good idea," she sighed. "I didn't even think about how small my room is…it's a little cramped even with the three of us…"

"Then it's settled. I'll have my employees give Adrien's room a wide berth," he stated.

"That won't be necessary. I can seal the room so no one will hear what we talk about."

"Ah. Then we'll see you in a few minutes. Do you girls have a preference for snacks?"

"My parents made enough snacks to feed an army," she laughed. "Thank you though."

"Okay then." The line went dead and Marinette put her phone away.

"We're gonna move to Adrien's place," she explained as she grabbed her school bag and the snacks. "There's more room."

"Wait… _Adrien_ is Chat Noir?" Sabrina gasped.

"Yep. I was surprised too," she laughed. "So let's go."

* * *

Sabrina was still a little overwhelmed by it all. And she had a gnawing guilt about how she'd treated Chloe. Everything was going so fast. Suddenly, she'd yelled at Chloe like that and broke off their friendship, and then before she could really process what she'd done, she was a superhero. She knew she was happy to not be taking orders and the blame for Chloe, but she also knew that Chloe was left with absolutely no friends since Adrien had broken off his friendship with Chloe too.

She fell behind the other two as they walked to Adrien's home, lost in thought. She felt like she should apologize to Chloe, but she also felt that Chloe didn't deserve it after everything she'd done. She sighed to herself, deciding to stay on course. She wanted to be a person with real friends and values. She wanted to be someone her father could be proud of. The first step to be that person was to stop taking orders from Chloe and carve her own path.

"Sabrina?" Marinette asked suddenly. Sabrina jolted and looked at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah…I'm fine," she sighed, catching up with them.

"You feel bad about dropping Chloe," Alya guessed.

"What? No, I don't," she argued, sure she didn't sound convincing. Both girls gave her a pointed look and she sighed. "That obvious?"

"It's not a bad thing…," Marinette said lightly. "With as long as you were with her…I'd feel guilty about cutting off that friendship too…even if it was horrible for you and everyone around you…"

"I can only imagine how Adrien's dealing with cutting her off…they were friends even longer than that…," Alya muttered.

"Since Chloe's mom left, I think…," Sabrina sighed. "Anyways…how long have you guys known about Adrien?"

"I figured him out when the Ripper was on his rampage," Alya said proudly.

"I…had to be told," Marinette said quietly.

"So are you two officially dating? Is that why he reacted like that with Chloe?" Sabrina pressed.

"It's…complicated."

"More than complicated, actually," Alya corrected. "To simplify though…they pretty much ripped each other's hearts out and fell in love with each other twice."

"That doesn't simplify it at all…," she sighed. "But I can see how complicated that can be…"

"Let's just get this meeting done…we need to figure out our next move… _and_ we really do have homework to do…," Marinette said sharply, picking up the pace. Alya and Sabrina hurried to keep up with her.

* * *

Adrien was gathering his school work for the 'meeting' when a knock came at his bedroom door. He frowned and went to open the door. His father was standing in the hall, holding a notebook.

"Do you know what kind of pizza the girls would prefer?"

"What?" he asked, shocked.

"Marinette and the others are coming here, rather than meeting in her home…," Gabriel explained.

"Oh…okay then. I have no idea on the pizza front though…Marinette said that she'd have snacks…"

"Snacks are one thing, but you have a lot to talk over, and if they bring their homework you may as well get that done as well. I was planning to order pizza."

"…Who are you and what did you do with my father?" Adrien asked, surprised that his father was being so unusually caring. It may have had something to do with the sudden lack of secrecy needed in the house.

"Very funny. I'll just order something…"

"Right…Okay," Adrien mumbled as his father turned and walked off. He could hear the man mumbling about toppings and he went back into his room, more than a little surprised. He went to his computer and started doing some research for his homework. It wasn't long before another knock came at his door and he went to open the door.

"We brought the snacks," Alya greeted from the head of the group. "Marinette's parents baked probably way too much." He looked behind her to see Marinette expertly carrying two trays of baked goods and a couple of bags with the bakery logo on them. He stepped aside to let the girls into his room, taking a tray from Marinette as she passed him. Sabrina of all people came in last, wearing a new looking outfit.

"Thanks…," Marinette sighed, putting the other tray on his table. He put the tray he'd snatched down and helped her unpack the rest of the snacks. "When your father called, it was lucky I hadn't started unpacking the treats…"

"Guess I should have suggested this in the first place…," he laughed. She shrugged and went back to the door. He slumped a little, but knew it would be a process getting back on their previous terms.

"So…you're Chat Noir?" Sabrina started.

"Yeah…and I'm gonna guess you're Queen Bee?" he sighed. She nodded a little. "Where's Chloe?"

"Probably getting ready for boot camp or getting rejected by nuns," she answered with a shrug. "I'm not talking to her anymore, so I wouldn't know."

"Wow…okay then."

"All right…the room is sealed, so no one will hear what we're talking about even if they put their ear to the door," Marinette said lightly before moving to sit on the couch. "Let's figure all this out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


	8. Interlude I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans for Adrien’s first day back in the field get...changed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: Rape and Tentacles. I tried to keep it out of the M/Explicit rating but there it is...

Six weeks passed with very few incidents, and Alya was glad for that. She got the hang of things pretty quickly, but she found that she had to practice with more complicated songs before she could use them without backfire. Adrien's father insisted on funding the 'hero phones' even though the girls could afford them. And they had 'study meetings' every weekend to make plans and catch up on assignments.

Alya had started studying Grima in the little free time she had since her flute doubled as a staff. And the multitasking was a challenge. She had no idea how Marinette managed to make it look so easy. Between school, hero stuff, her blog, and duties as Marinette's co-president, she barely had time for anything else. It was sheer dumb luck that Hawkmoth seemed to be picking his victims more carefully lately, with an obvious preference for criminals, so the incidents weren't as often as they used to be.

She watched the others carefully. Sabrina seemed to have adjusted easily enough since she didn't have much going on outside of school and post-Chloe drama. Marinette still made everything look easy, and Adrien was moping about not being able to help as Chat Noir.

"Alya?" Nino asked her while on a date the same day Adrien was scheduled to get his cast removed. She looked at him.

"What?"

"I've asked you four times already…are you okay?" he sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him. "Guess I'm a little distracted…with everything going on…"

"Right…about that…you don't have much more going on than usual, right?"

"Well besides with this being our last year before university…applications…exams…," she trailed off, knowing better than to include anything that would implicate her hero duties and training.

"You got your acceptance letter though?" he asked. "And you've got exams in the bag if you actually manage to show up."

"Why wouldn't I show up?"

"You've been skipping class just as much as Marinette and Adrien lately…," he sighed. "Now…if _I_ wasn't the only one recording for the blog outside of your non-incident videos…"

"But you take action shots so much better than I do," she reminded him, batting her eyes.

"Alya, babe…you're always right up in danger…or worse, distracting Chat Noir and Ladybug…," he said sharply. "What's really going on with you lately? You've been super flaky lately…"

"Flaky…? That's…a strong word…," she mumbled. "Look…it's just—"

"I mean, Adrien and Marinette skipping is reasonable…all things considered, but I can't help but think you have about the same reasons…" he continued, cutting her off.

"What do you mean by that…?"

"Chat Noir and Ladybug?"

"You're crazy, Nino!" She gasped, trying to sound shocked. "No way can they be—"

"Alya!" He cut her off again. "You can't honestly say they aren't obvious as fuck."

"Nino…," she groaned.

"And you're Volpina, right?"

"What?! No way!" He gave her a look and she groaned. "Fine…you caught me…I'm Volpina. But you can't tell anyone! Hell…I'm tempted to ask Marinette if she knows any memory wiping spells…"

"I won't tell anyone," he promised. "You know I wouldn't break your trust like that…"

"And I'm the only one you told about you thinking that Marinette and Adrien are heroes?" she pressed.

"Yeah…you're the only one. I really only said something because I'm worried about you…"

"I've been learning how to fight," she told him. "And I have at least the songs I'd be using the most worked on fully…"

"Doesn't change that I'm worried," he sighed. "The villains lately are mostly homicidal…"

"Nino…," she sighed heavily. "Guess I can't say anything to make you stop worrying huh…?"

"Nope," he laughed. "But can you blame me?"

"I guess not…," she relented. Her phone went off and she checked it. It was a text from Marinette telling her that Adrien was on his way home from the hospital.

"Duty calls?" Nino asked.

"Not exactly. Adrien's getting his cast off today and we were going to meet up when he's ready, to do some training and run a quick patrol to help him get back into the swing of things…," she sighed. "I'm also gonna try and talk to Marinette about her giving Adrien the cold shoulder lately…"

"They're still not talking much?" he groaned.

"No. And it's driving us crazy," she sighed. "They're crazy about each other, but they're both being weird about the whole thing."

"Why are they doing this to themselves?"

"It's complicated…I mean Mari confessed to Adrien and he turned her down because Ladybug and then she outed herself and he didn't believe her…and then there was that truth serum guy…and Ladybug tore Chat Noir down because of the spell…"

"Sounds…more than complicated…," Nino laughed. "But are they seriously holding grudges like that? Pretty reasonable for Adrien not to believe her being Ladybug…she wouldn't just out herself to impress a guy…"

"I know…and I haven't been able to get Marinette to talk about it…I kind of think there's more to it than 'he reasonably called me a liar but I'm mad about that anyways'…," she sighed.

"Well, hopefully you guys can talk some sense into them. I can't really talk to Adrien without outing that I know that he's Chat Noir…," Nino said with a shrug.

"Thanks for keeping that to yourself…the less people that know that you know…even in our own circle…the better."

He nodded and checked the time before starting to pack up their picnic. Alya frowned but remembered that he had a gig to get to after their date. She moved to help and kissed him lightly when they were done.

* * *

Marinette sighed a little as she messaged Alya and Sabrina about Adrien's arm. She was planning to talk to Adrien about where they stood since they'd had plenty of time. It was just a matter of timing really with that conversation, since she didn't want to have Alya or Sabrina in the background.

She got a message from Alya saying that they needed to talk before they went on patrol. Marinette sighed and responded in the affirmative just as she got a message from Sabrina confirming the plans to help Adrien get back into the swing of things. She smiled a little and went to get some snacks from the bakery for the meeting.

"Mr Agreste already called," her father laughed as Marinette went to fill a box with the team's favourite snacks. "We have the snacks ready."

"Oh…and let me guess…he insisted on paying for this…?" She groaned as she put the box she'd been working on down.

"We didn't let him though," her mother laughed. "Business is good enough without taking money for feeding you and your friends."

"Right…I always feel bad that we take so much product though…," she mumbled.

"Don't worry about that, honey. Just have fun with your friends."

"Thanks," she hugged her parents and grabbed the bag of snacks before she started for the door.

"Oh! I almost forgot. We got hold of some Camembert and made some special for Adrien."

"Oh…I'm sure he'll appreciate that," she sighed before heading out. Plagg at least would enjoy the Camembert. She went straight for the Agreste home to drop off the snacks with Nathalie and then texted Alya to see where she wanted to meet.

When Alya replied, she headed for the spot she specified. When she arrived, however, there was no sign of Alya. She called her friend to see how far away she was. To her surprise, she heard Alya's phone go off in the alley behind her. Marinette turned to see what the issue was but was shocked by what she saw: Alya was on the ground with her pants yanked off and a man attempting to rape her. She dropped her phone and went into action, yanking the man back and pinning him to the wall with his arm behind his back.

"What the hell, bitch?!" The guy shouted in pain. "I wasn't doing anything!"

"Your pants are down, asshole," she snapped, twisting his arm. "Alya, are you hurt?"

"N-no…you had perfect timing…," Alya said slowly, reaching to put her pants back on. "He came up behind me…"

"Will you call the police? I have my hands full…," she sighed. The guy started to struggle, but Marinette held him in place, twisting his arm just enough to threaten to break it. He shouted in pain again but stopped struggling. She heard her phone go off, but Alya got it after finishing on the phone with the police. "Thanks…"

"No problem…it's Adrien. Wondering where we are. You want me to call him?"

"No…we can tell them what happened when we get to the house."

* * *

Adrien paced his room, getting worried. According to Nathalie, Marinette had dropped the snacks off before heading to do something else. Alya was nowhere to be seen either.

"Can you please stop pacing?" Sabrina groaned. "It's making me dizzy…"

"I'm just worried!" He groaned but sat down on the couch. "What if something happened to them?"

"They can take care of themselves," Sabrina sighed. "And besides…we'd get crime alerts if it was serious."

"I guess you're right…I've just got a bad feeling…," he muttered, pulling out his phone. He sent a message to Marinette asking where she and Alya were. He didn't get a reply and jumped up.

"Adrien, give her a minute. Honestly…you're being impossible…"

"How are you so calm?!" He snapped. Just then, he got a message from Alya saying they were on the way. "They're on the way…"

" _That's_ how I'm so calm…seriously…," she groaned. "I know you're itching to get back out there but calm down…"

"I'm not—Okay you're right…but what if I was right to worry?"

"She. Is. Ladybug. She can take care of herself you love struck idiot."

"I'm not a love struck—" he broke off when Sabrina gave him a look. "Yeah…you're right again…but I mean—" both of their hero phones interrupted with crime alerts and he ran to his computer as Sabrina turned on the news.

"For the privacy of the one under attack," a woman stated as soon as Sabrina found the station. "We're broadcasting from the next block over. Please, for everyone's safety and her privacy, stay away from the following area…"

"What does she mean by that?" Adrien gasped, unable to find any real information on the situation. Every outlet was keeping a distance and not giving details 'for the victim's privacy'. He turned in his desk chair and pulled out his phone.

"I'll call Alya…she and Marinette are probably already—"

"Oh! There's Volpina. Thank goodness it's not Chat Noir…he probably wouldn't be welcome in this situation…" the reporter gasped as the camera panned to show Volpina jumping across roofs towards the scene. "Hopefully Queen Bee and Ladybug will join her soon…"

"I have a bad feeling…," Sabrina muttered, pulling out her hero phone. She made a call. "She was with Alya…if Alya's transformed Marinette should be also…"

"What do you think she meant by—" Adrien was cut off by his hero phone going off. He saw that it was Alya and answered. "What's going on?"

"An Akuma," she replied. It's got Marinette, but you should stay out of it, Adrien. This isn't something you want to see."

"Not a chance! Without Ladybug, you guys—"

"It's a rapist," she snapped and his eyes went wide. "Let us girls handle it."

"What's the situation?" Sabrina asked, getting up and looking for her Kwami.

"A…a rapist got akumatized…and they have Marinette…," he said slowly. "I'm still going!"

"You don't need to see her like this, Adrien," Alya bit. "We've got this." Sabrina called for her transformation just then.

"If that's the case, Adrien…you need to stay behind. If the media's staying out of it for her privacy…," Sabrina said after a moment. "She wouldn't want you to see her in that state…"

"But—"

"Trust us with this one, Adrien," both of them said at the same time. He groaned.

"Fine…," he mumbled, opening the window for Sabrina. She nodded and flew out to the scene and he ended the call with Alya. He moved to the couch and grumbled.

"There's Queen Bee! No sign of Ladybug or Chat Noir, though…I hope they warned him about the situation and he's keeping back…," the reporter gasped as Queen Bee flew overhead.

"I finally get my Miraculous back and I can't do anything…," he groaned.

* * *

Everything happened so fast. Alya had been waiting for Marinette when someone grabbed her from behind. She'd been caught off guard and overpowered before she could get her bearings enough to fight back. Just before her assailant managed to actually penetrate her, Marinette had swooped in and saved her. After the cops arrived and arrested the man, she'd messaged Adrien that they were on the way.

"Are you sure you're okay, Alya?" Marinette asked her while they were walking.

"I'm fine," she insisted. She was fine, just a little shaken and frustrated.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"You and Adrien," she said simply. "You're holding things against him that are—"

"I'm not holding anything against him…I just needed time…," Marinette sighed. "I was going to—" she broke off as something dragged her back.

"Mari?!" Alya gasped, whirling around. Something thick and rope-like was pulling her friend into the air by her ankle. Alya looked for the source of the thing and spotted a large creature that could only be described as a coil of tentacles. One of the limbs came at her and she jumped out of the way.

"Get out of here!" Marinette shouted, struggling against the tentacles as they coiled around her. Alya cast her gaze around for a safe place nearby to transform, but the tentacles made another grab at her and she had to run. She vaguely heard fabric ripping and could only assume that Marinette's clothes had been shredded. She rounded a corner and called one of their media contacts on her hero phone. She warned them about the attack and to keep a distance.

"This is a good time to work on your mimic spell," Trixx said as they went into an alley a few blocks from the Akuma. "If she can't transform, you can mimic Ladybug's power to capture and purify the Akuma."

"I was wondering about that one…good to know," she sighed before calling for her transformation and heading back to the scene. When she got close enough to see how bad it was, she called the others.

* * *

Queen Bee landed beside Volpina barely a minute after she left the Agreste manor at full speed. The sight of the creature and what it was doing to Marinette made her a little nauseous. They needed to get her away from it.

"We need to break off the tentacles holding her…without being grabbed ourselves," Volpina sighed.

"Yeah…I'll try and cut it," she agreed, flying up a few meters and aiming her trompo at the tentacle holding Marinette's wrist. The attack roughly severed the limb, but another tried to snatch her out of the air. She flew out of the way and looked to see Volpina taking the distraction to attempt another attack.

It seemed to anticipate her strike and made a grab at her staff. Bee frowned and sent her trompo flying at the offending limb. They really needed another set of hands, but Adrien didn't need to see Marinette like this.

"Cataclysm!" Adrien's voice shouted from nearby and she watched in horror as Chat Noir leapt into the fray, grabbing the tentacles with his charged hand to rip them off. He caught Marinette and ran off.

"That idiot!" Volpina gasped.

"At least she's safe…," Bee sighed. "Let's take care of this." She spotted something in the main body of the creature. "There! That must be it!" She flew as fast as she could for the spot.

* * *

Marinette had blacked out when the monster had ripped into her. She knew that her friends would do what they had to, even if it meant Adrien seeing her naked. She could easily assume that this Akuma was the man she'd stopped from raping Alya, since it was so recent and he clearly went straight after her.

"Marinette…," Adrien's voice cut through her stupor and she started to wake up.

"W-what…?" She mumbled, opening her eyes.

"Thank goodness…it's okay…The others are taking care of it…," he assured her.

"But the Akuma—" she gasped.

"The girls have it handled," he sighed, cutting her off. She shook her head and started trying to get to her feet.

"But—"

"You're hurt, Marinette," he cut her off again. "I'll get you home to rest…"

"They need Ladybug though."

"They can handle it. Just trust them," he argued and it suddenly occurred to her that he wasn't transformed. "I used my Cataclysm to get you away from it…"

"Oh…," she managed to get up and Adrien pulled his shirt off. "Thanks…," she took it from him and put it on.

"I'll just take you home…unless you want to go to the hospital?"

"No…home is fine…I don't think anything's broken…," she sighed, assessing herself carefully. Adrien called for his transformation and picked her up gently. "Thank you…"

"I know you probably didn't want me to see you like that…but I couldn't just sit around…," he sighed as he carried her up to a roof.

"No…I'm glad you came," she told him. "Sorry to make you worry…"

* * *

Volpina and Queen Bee barely managed to subdue the villain to free the Akuma. She spun her staff and concentrated on the mimic spell. The tune came to her and she envisioned Ladybug's yoyo as she played the tune.

"Mimic," she sighed as her staff transformed into an orange copy of the yoyo. She opened it and captured the Akuma before it flew away. "And that's that…," she said lightly, releasing the purified butterfly.

"I'll let the police know that it's safe," Bee said before flying off. Volpina glared at the man who'd been Akumatized. She wasn't surprised to see that it was the man who'd attacked her just a few minutes prior. They were lucky that there wasn't any damage to the city. When the police arrived, she started for Marinette's home to check on her. Bee was hot on her trail. "Any idea why he targeted Marinette like that?"

"Yeah…she's the one who got him arrested," she replied. "For trying to rape me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on Tumblr [@sorcerymuses](http://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com)


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